


Maria's Adventures: Disney Kingdom

by CrossingTheFourthWall



Series: Maria's Adventures [1]
Category: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), Kingdom Hearts, Treasure Planet (2002)
Genre: (not quite if only because of who Maria becomes), (that explains the inexperience in the writing style), Gen, I've been working on this series for years; I started it when I was...15? wow, Just thought I'd list The Important Ones, OCs - Freeform, Portals, This story was written back in 2012, but bear with me; it gets better, people kidnapped by cartoon villains, self-insert-ish, so the writing is clearly inexperienced
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-21 03:45:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 66,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11349201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossingTheFourthWall/pseuds/CrossingTheFourthWall
Summary: Two sisters find themselves pulled into the realm of Kingdom Hearts for...a reason that my present self cannot see that my past self could. Still, it's the start of something far bigger, and what happens here changes the course of these two girls' lives from normal and average to something filled with far more danger and adventure.





	1. And So It Begins

**Author's Note:**

> Oof, looking back at this work gives me the shivers. If I had the time, I'd sit down and rewrite the whole thing again, but I can't because of how many ideas I have. Ah, well. At least you guys can see how my writing style progresses. :)
> 
> I hope you don't get turned away by how it starts. The writing gets much better over time, believe me. It just...takes a few stories for it to get that far. Until then, cringe through my inexperience! Cringe!

            Maria was sleeping soundly, not a care in the world. Below her in the lower bunk, Liz was sleeping, as well.

            Neither of them noticed the large, round figure that squeezed through the door into their room. The creature looked around the small bedroom - which was made even smaller by the pair of wardrobes that sat at either side of the room. The bunk bed that sat next to one wall soon caught its attention, and it looked at the sleepers with interest, the creature's small, short ears going up.

            The creature looked at the 16-year-old sleeping in the top bunk, her light brown hair seeming to be shining slightly because of the light coming out of the closet. Its eyes scanned the slight athletic build on the girl had.

            Maria was so deep in her sleep that she didn't notice the cat-like face observing her.

            The creature looked at the girl on the lower bunk, taking note of the darker hair and seemingly smaller build. The girl was certainly younger than the other, and appeared to be a 13 years old, and was most likely (and truly was) Maria's sister.

            Suddenly, Maria started to stir in her sleep, muttering something as she started to enter the land of the awake. The creature started to hurriedly look around for a hiding place and, catching sight of such a place dove for it and disappeared inside.

            Maria sat up, looking around for whatever it was that might had woken her, blue eyes alert. Climbing down the ladder in her blue T-shirt and shorts, she hissed, "Liz!"

            Liz opened her blue eyes, her face forming a scowl as she glared up at the girl who had disturbed her sleep. "What?" she demanded. The annoyance in her tone clearly said that she wanted to sleep for some time longer.

            "I think there's someone in our room," Maria replied quietly. She grabbed her red and black glasses off a bookshelf that was near the ladder.

            "It's probably just the cat," her sister muttered grumpily. "Looking for breakfast from you."

            "I doubt it. The presence feels malicious, and the alarm hasn't gone off yet - that's his signal to come up here."

            Liz got out of her bed in purple pjs identical to Maria's and opened her wardrobe. "You probably just had a bad dream." She took out her lavender glasses and looked around. "Nothing seems to be off." She started to take her glasses off again when she looked over at he digital clock that sat on top of Maria's wardrobe, which had its back right up against the headboards of the bunk beds.

            Liz let out a sigh. "Oh, it's six. Guess it's time we got up, anyway." She flipped the room's light switch to the "on" position, flooding the room with light.

            They quickly slipped into respective outfits they had left out the day before: Maria now wore a red T-shirt and jeans with white shoes that had red stripes, and Liz was in the same outfit, but with a purple shirt instead, and her shoes had dark blue stripes.

            Maria started going through a pile of clothes in the corner of the room that contained the end of her wardrobe that could be opened.

            "I don't see my orange jacket in here," the teenager noted, frowning.

            "It's probably in your wardrobe," Liz said as she put on a white jacket. "I don't think you really need it. How warm is it out there?"

            "Something like fifty degrees," Maria replied. "A bit too cold for just a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, if you ask me."

            "Here," came a muffled voice from Maria's wardrobe. "Is this what you're looking for?" A large hand in a black glove came out, holding an item of clothing.

            "Thanks!" Maria said, grabbing the orange jacket. She started to put it on, then slowed down slightly as she realized what had just occurred. "Who's in my wardrobe?"

            Maria opened the doors wide, revealing a large animal with a big chin, big eyes, and short, pointy ears. It was also wearing some sort of red-and-blue outfit that looked somewhat like armor.

            Maria blinked a couple times, getting a good look at the creature, her reaction time slow as it was still early in the morning. A couple seconds later, she let out a gasp. "You!"

            "What about me?" the creature retorted.

            "You're...Pete!"

            Liz looked over and let out a squeal. "What's he doing in there?! I thought he was just supposed to be a cartoon!"

            "So did I!" Maria replied. "And he's in the same getup as the one in those cutscenes we've been watching..." She started to back up to the door of the bedroom. "I think I'll go warn Mom and Dad."

            Pete looked panicked at the notion, and then an angry look came over his face. "Oh no, you don't! Yer comin' with me!" He quickly grabbed the two girls by their jackets as some sort of black portal opened up in the center of the room. Pete then barreled into the portal, carrying one girl in each arm, both struggling to get free.

            "Let us GO!" Maria yelled. She tried to push against Pete's thick arm in order to drop to the carpeted floor, but it only wrapped around her more tightly.

            "Fat chance," Pete replied as he ran through some sort of dark corridor. "You two saw me, so you won't be tellin' nobody about my bein' in your world. So you're coming to mine."

            Liz growled. "You meanie!"

            "I ain't mean," Pete replied as if the insult were nothing. "Just wait 'till you meet my boss!"

            The two girls looked at each other across Pete's belly. Neither had any real idea what he meant.

            Just as they emerged through a portal at the other side of the strange corridor, Pete shouted, "I'm baaack!" The portal then closed, much to the horror of the girls.

            "About time," said a cold voice.

            Maria's head turned to see a tall woman in a black robe coming down some stone stairs. She carried a tall, black staff with a green orb on the top, and she wore what seemed to be ram horns on her head.

            Maria took in a quick breath. "No, way. This can't be happening..."

            Liz glared at the figure with dark intent. "It seems like it is."

            Pete unceremoniously dropped the two girls, who let out squeals as they hit the stone floor. The Disney cat saluted as the woman stopped in front of him. "You were right! There are other worlds out there. I found myself in a small house, and discovered these two kids. Surprisingly, they recognized me."

            "Of course we recognized you!" Maria snapped as she got up. "You're Mickey's archenemy!"

            "Do you recognize me, then?" the woman inquired. The look on her face was calm, calculating, and cold.

            "Well, duh! Of course we recognize you," Liz snapped as she got up. "You're Malificent!"

            "Correct," Malificent replied. "Now, pray tell, what are your names?"

            "I don't know if we should tell you, you...hag!" Maria replied haughtily. She looked proud at being able to come up with something that could get on the evil witch's nerves.

            "Yeah!" Liz agreed, giving a determined nod.

            Malificent glared at the two girls while Pete nervously backed away, obviously expecting something.

            "YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!" Malificent roared, blasting them with a shockwave of bright green power.

            The two girls screamed in agony as the shockwave hit, sending green electricity through their limbs. The two fell to the ground, unmoving.

            Malificent, still burning with anger, turned to Pete and said, "Take these two to the empty cell. Watch them, and report to me if they wake."

            Pete nodded, then moved to grab the children. He had picked up Liz and was starting to reach for the other, only to become surprised to find that Maria staring into space.

            "Kingdom Hearts...is...real," the girl murmured before her eyes closed. Maria instantly went limp.

            Pete frowned as he picked up Maria. He didn't have any idea what that meant, but he supposed he'd just have to ask the girl when she woke up.

            After adjusting his grip on his cargo, he lumbered off for the cell Malificent had mentioned. He kept the information to himself, thinking that his boss hadn't heard him.

            But Malificent had heard what the girl had said.

            _Hmmm, interesting,_ the witch thought to herself. _But what could the child mean? I already know that Kingdom Hearts exists. Perhaps she is referring to something else? But what could share its name?_

            The sorceress turned and started the trek to her sleeping chambers, preparing to turn in as she considered what the new arrival had said.

**Time Break. Some hours later...**

            Liz let out a moan and got up, rubbing her head. "Ugh. What's with this stupid headache?"

            She started muttering angrily as she looked about, only to start blinking in confusion upon not finding herself in her bedroom, but in a prison cell that didn't look like it had been used in the last century. Even adjusting her glasses' position didn't change what she was looking at.

            Recalling what had happened to cause her headache, Liz jumped up and dashed for the door. Spotting Pete through the partially rotting door's barred window, Liz exclaimed, "You! What did Malificent do to me and my sister? And where are we?"

            Pete, who appeared to be leaning against the wall across the corridor, looked over at Liz with a look of half-surprise. "Well, that's one of the two brats," he muttered - seemingly to himself. "Now I gotta wait for the other one to wake up."

            Liz blinked, then frowned. "Other one...?"

            She looked behind herself in order to get another look at her cell. Liz's eyes widened when she saw Maria leaning against a wall in a back corner with half-closed eyes. She looked like she had been out of it for some time.

            Liz quickly moved over to her sister. "Maria!" she hissed. "Wake up!"

            Her sister didn't move.

            Liz kneeled on the floor and started to shake her. "Maria!"

            Her sister didn't respond.

            "What's wrong with you? WAKE UP!" When Maria refused to answer, Liz did a double face palm and let out a loud groan of frustration that sounded like "Uhhhhh!"

            Pete, being the curious and dimwitted Disney character he is, came over to the door and peered. "Is that what your sister's called? Maria?"

            Liz looked up at him with an intense glare that could have probably burned the door if it did have any actual power behind it. "Yeah. You got a problem with that?" Her tone was cold and annoyed, matching the look on her face to a "t."

            "Not at all," Pete said hurriedly. The look reminded him of Malificent's for some reason...

            A curious look came over the jail-keeper's face. "What're you called, then?"

            "...We told you earlier, it's NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"

            Liz jutted her arm out in front of her, causing a sword that looked like it was made of water to appear. Instinctively, she slammed the ground with the weapon, causing a flash of light as the sword disappeared. Then a blue portal appeared beneath Liz, and she disappeared into the vortex.

            In the corner, Maria stirred, and she was sucked into the portal, as well.

            Pete's eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Liz's actions, and they widened further when Maria was sucked in and disappeared in a flash of light.

            "Malificent is going to be real mad when she hears about this," Pete muttered, looking terrified out of his wits.

            "Hear about what?" asked a cold voice behind the fat cat.


	2. Meet the gang. At least, most of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can tell I was terrible with descriptions and keeping the story flowing well when I started writing.
> 
> You can probably also tell that I know absolutely nothing about Final Fantasy. Eh.

            Liz shook her head as she came to, a second headache rattling her brain.

            "Man, this day just keeps getting better and better," she muttered sarcastically in a low growl, getting up into a kneeling position.

            Liz stated to look around at her new surroundings, surprised and a little confused to find herself sitting in a dead-end alley, and not the prison cell. Even more confusing - and also terrifying - was that Maria was nowhere in sight.

            "Am I back on Earth?" Liz asked quietly, frowning slightly. "And where's Maria?"

            She looked around again, hoping to catch sight of her older sister, but Maria was nowhere in sight.

            Just then, someone tall with brown hair appeared at the open end of the alley, then catching sight of the confused girl, walked towards her, then got down on one knee in order to get a better look at Liz.

            "Hey, you look pretty lost," the figure stated in a gentle, yet gruff tone. "What are you doing back here?"

            Liz looked up at the taller figure, blinking in confusion as she took note of the black leather jacket, white shirt, and jeans the figure was wearing. Then she noticed the sword hilt that came up from behind him, which directed Liz to the figure's face.

            Liz recognized the figure almost immediately.

            "Leon!" she exclaimed, a relieved look appeared on her face. "Am I glad to see you!"

            The dark-haired figure - his name now revealed - frowned at Liz in confusion. "Have I...run into you before?" he asked slowly, his frown shifting to a look of suspicion.

            "No," Liz replied with a shake of her head. "No you haven't, but I've heard a lot about you." Another thought popped into her head. "Listen, I need to contact Sora as soon as possible. Could you help me with that?"

            Leon raised an eyebrow. "I get I know where you heard about me, then." He got to his feet, then offered Liz a hand in getting up. When the girl had gotten to her feet, he continued, "You heard about me from Sora, didn't you?"

            Liz shook her head. "Not really, no." She gave Leon a pleading look. "But I have to find him - it's a matter of life and death!"

            Leon frowned, the suspicious look returning. "I don't know if I should. If Sora hasn't met you, then why are you looking for him? He's busy training for the Mark of Mastery Exam, last time I checked."

            "It's about my sister," Liz responded, worry creeping into her voice. "She's being held by Malificent! Please, I need his help in order to get her out of that witch's castle!"

            Leon's eyebrows arched, but he suspicious look soon returned. "This is Radiant Garden, not Malificent's world. How would you know where your sister is?"

            "Because I was just there!"

            Leon's frown deepened. "How did you get here, then?"

            "I-I don't know! All I remember is a bright flash and some sort of watery thing in my hands!"

            Liz threw her arms out, only for a flash to occur in her right hand, and the mentioned "watery thing" appeared in her grip. After a moment, the object flashed, and the water was exchanged for a sword with a curve: a scimitar. The hilt was purple and dusty blue, with a keychain that came off the end. Connected to that was a dark purple gem shaped like the head of a dragon.

            Liz looked at the sword with wide eyes, turning her wrist this way and that in order to get a better look at the blade. "Whoa..." She turned her attention to Leon. "Now can I talk to Sora?" Her voice carried a tone of annoyance that clearly stated, "See? I told you so!"

            Leon shook his head. "Like I told you, he's training, and no one except for Yen Sin knows where he is." A serious look appeared on his face. "It might be a good idea to talk to the old wizard about your sword, though." He motioned to the blade Liz was holding. "Come on." He turned and dashed out of the alley and turned to the right when he had left the alley.

            Liz grinned, then took off after Leon.

**Space Break**

            "So, you're telling me that you and your sister came from another world and you guys ran into Malificent, who cast some sort of spell on your sister," a girl with black hair and wearing a matching outfit stated.

            Liz nodded. "That's right, Yuffie. Now, hurry up and contact Yen Sid!" She motioned to the computers that were standing nearby, lining the walls of the room she, Yuffie, and Leon were standing in.

            "It isn't that easy," Leon warned, his arms crossed over his chest. "We can't just send a signal when we don't really know if there's anyone on his world."

            "Fine," Liz replied haughtily. "Then I'll find a way to get there myself."

            Liz started to walk out, but Yuffie stopped her by grabbing Liz's arm.

            "Hold on there, Liz. You don't know what's out there," the ninja girl warned.

            Liz looked at her, a slightly annoyed look on her face. "Is there anything out there besides Heartless and Nobodies?"

            "Xehanort," Leon pointed out in a grim tone. He frowned. "Tell me again - where did you learn all this?"

            "I didn't tell you before," Liz retorted. "Let's just say that I know a lot." She shook her head as an annoyed look appeared on her face. "Look, is there a way to contact Sora's friends? Riku or Kairi would do just as well right about now, but Sora would be best."

            Leon and Yuffie looked at each other, gauging what Liz had just said.

            "Let's just try the Mysterious Tower," Yuffie finally stated. "Yen Sid doesn't leave that place, anyway." She looked at Liz. "But no running off, O.K.?"

            Liz nodded begrudgingly. "Yeah, yeah. All right."

            Leon turned to computer behind him and typed something in. Grabbing a nearby microphone, he stated, "This is Radiant Garden to Mysterious Tower. Is anyone there?"

            For a moment, there was only the sound of static from the speaker. But then, there was something that sounded like a chuckle from the speakers.

            _::Hey there, Leon! This is Goofy! What can we do for ya?::_ asked a cheery voice. It sounded like whoever was on the other end might have been grinning.

            "There's this girl over here," Leon replied. "I haven't met her before in my life, but she somehow knows who I am." He glanced back at Liz, who had her left hand on her hip while the right dangled in a relaxed way. She was still holding onto her sword. "The kid claims to have come from another world with her older sister, who's apparently being held captive by Malificent."

_::Gwarsh, that sounds really bad! What's her name?::_

            "Liz."

            _::Well, uh...Ya mind if I talk to her?::_

            Leon let out a sigh. "All right." He handed the microphone to Liz, who took it in her free hand.

            "Hi, Goofy!" Liz greeted. "I'm Liz."

            _::Hi! It's nice to meet ya, Liz!::_ Goofy replied. Liz was certain that the Disney character was still grinning. _::Ya mind tellin' me what happened?::_

            "Well, when Maria and I woke up this morning, Pete was hiding in Maria's closet. We were about to warn everyone in the house when Pete grabbed us and took us from our world into Mailificent's. Once we'd met the witch and made her mad, I kinda blacked out. When I came to, my sister and I were in a cell, and Maria was still out of it. I tried to wake her up, but nothing worked. I'm not sure what happened next, because there was this bright flash that made me black out again. Next thing I knew, I was sitting in an alley in Radiant Garden. That's where Leon found me."

            Out of the corner of her eye, Liz saw Leon and Yuffie exchange slightly skeptical glances upon hearing her story again.

            _::Gwarsh! That's some story:_ : Goofy remarked. _::I suppose you wanna go back and rescue your sister, right?::_

            "That's right," Liz confirmed with a nod. "I was hoping to get Sora's help, but Leon said he was busy."

_::A-yup! Sora's off trainin' for the Mark of Mastery Exam, and we don't know where he is. But Master Yen Sid might. Hold on; I'm gonna go get him::_

            Liz had to wait for about a minute and a half before a wise, gruff voice came over the speaker system.

_::You are Liz, correct?::_

            "Yeah," Liz replied with another nod. "And you're Yen Sid, right?"

_::Correct. Goofy has informed me of what has occurred. Do you know of what might have caused yourself to teleport from Malificent's domain to the Radiant Garden?::_

            "I think so," Liz replied. She looked down at the sword in her right hand and rotated her wrist again, watching as the blade caught the light and gained an aquamarine hue. "This curved sword appeared in my hand when I was talking to Leon earlier - that could have caused me to teleport or whatever it was."

_::Hmmm... Liz, do you believe that you can cause that to happen again? And this time, concentrate on the Mysterious Tower::_

            On another screen, a picture of a tower that was a little crooked appeared.

            _::Can you do that, Liz?::_

            Liz blinked, then gave a nervous nod. "I-I can give it a try."

            After putting down the microphone, Liz closed her eyes and pictured the Mysterious Tower in her mind, concentrating on wanting to get there. Her grip tightened on the sword at her side which, unbeknownst to her, started to pulse with light in response to what she was thinking.

            Yuffie let out a gasp, causing Liz to open her eyes at the sound of the girl's voice.

            Right in front of Liz, where the computer was, a blue portal was open and waiting for someone to step through.

            Liz look back at Leon and Yuffie. When she saw the looks of surprise on their faces, she smirked.

            "See you guys later," the girl said, and she stepped through the portal.

            The corridor Liz ended up in looked nothing like the one Pete had ended up running into when she had first traveled by portal - instead of being dark and looking a little terrifying, the portal corridor was a bit more inviting.

            Still, Liz didn't want to stay for long, she ran through the corridor, and a bright flash changed the scenery again - this time to a starry night sky and a crooked tower that looked like it had some sort of...magician's hat at the top.

            Liz craned her neck as she looked up at the tower. "Wow. I didn't think it was that tall." She took a quick look around, then started walking around the base of the tower. "Where's the front door?"

            "Hey! Kid!"

            The brown-haired girl turned her head, and her eyes widened when she caught sight of the person who had spoken: a silver-haired teenage boy wearing a yellow and black vest and jeans.

            "You're Liz, right?" the boy asked when she had approached Liz. "The girl Yen Sid said was coming?"

            Liz blinked, then gave a nod. "Y-yeah, that's me."

            "I'm Riku," the boy stated. He made a motion with his head. "Come on; the entrance is this way." He turned and took off again around the tower, Liz following close behind. They reached the double-door entrance to the tower in a short time.

            Riku opened one of the doors, then motioned for Liz to step inside.

            "Master Yen Sid's study is on the top floor," he explained.

            Liz blinked, then gave a hesitant nod. "Thanks." She looked through the doorway at the staircase for a moment, then stepped inside and started up the stairs.

            Below, Riku stepped in and closed the door behind him with an echoing noise that seemed to travel up the tower after Liz. However, it had faded by the time she had reached the wooden door at the top of the staircase.

            Riku came up behind her and, after opening the door himself, slipped inside. Cautiously, with a mix of nervousness and excitement, Liz followed close behind.

            A blur of blue and white was in front of Liz in an instant.

            "Who're you?" the duck in front of her demanded angrily. "Are you the intruder I sensed with my magic?" He waved the staff in his wing at Liz, the three orbs on top flashing with a strange energy.

            "Calm yourself, Donald," responded a voice. "She is a welcomed guest."

            Liz looked past the duck, and her eyes widened upon seeing who had spoken.

            The old, gray-bearded man walked over, the dark blue robe he wore and matching pointed hat marking him to be a wizard. His wise eyes scanned Liz as she looked up at the wizard in awe.

            "Yen Sid," Liz murmured as she looked up at him.

            The wizard inclined his head. "So, you have heard of me."

            "Who hasn't?" An eager smile appeared on Liz's face.

            "Hmm..." Yen Sid gained a thoughtful expression. "I suppose you are Liz, correct? The child who claims to have a sister held captive by Malificent?"

            Liz blinked in surprise at the accusation hidden in the wizard's questions. "She is my sister, and she is being held by Malificent! I'm not lying!" She gestured emphatically as she spoke, causing her sword to swing about. This forced those who had been standing near her to back up in order to avoid getting sliced.

            "Careful!" Goofy yelped. "Ya don't wanna hurt anybody!"

            Liz looked over and gave an apologetic, nervous smile to Goofy. "Oops. Heh-heh. Sorry about that." She looked down at her sword and frowned at it. "Why won't it disappear like the Keyblades do?"

            Riku stiffened a little. "You know about Keyblades?"

            Liz cocked her head to one side, giving Riku a curious look. "Uh... Yeah. Why? Doesn't everybody?"

            "No, they do not," Yen Sid replied. "Keyblades are not weapons that are usually known by inhabitants of other worlds - and especially not children such as yourself."

            "Well, in my world, plenty of people know about you guys," Liz replied confidently. "Which is why we need to get my sister away from Malificent - stat. She knows what I know about you guys, and if that witch gets it out of her, you're going to be in big trouble."

            The group present looked at Liz in surprise, then exchanged glances with each other. Yen Sid still kept his gaze on Liz, however, maintaining a guarded expression.

            "What world do you come from?" Yen Sid inquired, frowning slightly.

            "Earth," Liz replied. "At least, that's what we call it." She shrugged. "I don't know if you call where I come from any different."

            The wizard's eyes narrowed slightly. "This could prove to be a problem."

            "What do you mean?" Goofy asked, looking concerned.

            "There have been some people who have come from that world and have either traveled through the waking worlds...or the ones of sleep." The serious look on Yen Sid's face became even more so as a determined look came over his face. "Your sister may be doing such a thing even as we speak."

            Liz's eyes widened. "Really? But how?"

            "It may have something to do with what you faced when you arrived in Malificent's domain," Yen Sid replied. "Can you tell us again what happened when you arrived there?"

            Liz blinked, then let out an annoyed sigh. "All right. This morning, when Maria woke me up, she said that there was someone in our room, which I didn't believe. Turned out she was actually right..."


	3. Under the Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp. I made a bit of a boo-boo with where the Atlantis movie takes place historically starting with this chapter. I knew it was during a World War. I just...picked the wrong one.
> 
> Whoops.
> 
> Well, I said I wasn't gonna go back and rewrite this anytime soon, so...I guess that mistake's gonna stay put.

_"Milo! Where did you find this kid? And how did she get on the sub?!"_

_"L-like I know! She just...appeared out of thin air!"_

            Maria let out a groan. The headache was a doozy, and the voices she was hearing didn't exactly help, either. There was something familiar enough about them both that caused her to crack open her eyelids in order to see who had been speaking. A moment later, they were flung open wide upon seeing who was looking down at her.

            "Hey, guys, I think she's awake." The spiky-haired redhead who had been looking down at Maria looked over in the direction of the pair who had been bickering.

            Two other faces appeared in Maria's vision: a young woman with a deep tan and wearing a dark blue cap, with gray heavy duty gloves on her hands; the other was a scrawny young man with glasses that looked like they were too big for his face.

            "All right, kid," the young woman stated, a suspicious look appearing on her face. "Who are you, and how did you get here?"

            "M-my name's Maria," Maria replied. She was a little nervous with three people staring her in the face, waiting expectantly for an answer. "And I don't know how I got here." She gave a shrug and a sheepish-looking smile. "Last thing I remember is a Disney character blasting me with a blast of magic or something."

            "Disney?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "You mean the guy who makes cartoons?"

            Maria gave a nod. "Uh, yeah. You guys do know about his movie _Sleeping Beauty,_ right?"

            The three exchanged glances, each with varying levels of confusion on their faces.

            "I don't think he's made a movie like that yet," the man stated. He sounded nervous - even more nervous than Maria sounded, but definitely as nervous as she felt.

            "Really? I watched it a lot when I was a kid." Maria frowned.

            The redhead's eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked down at Maria with a suspicious expression. After a moment, he looked back up at the other two. "You mind if I talk to the kid alone?"

            The woman gave the redhead a glare and started to protest, but the man cut her off.

            "I can figure out where she's from if you guys will leave the two of us alone, all right?"

            The man grabbed the woman's arm; he looked somewhat alarmed by the look the redhead was giving them. "Come on," he muttered.

            Reluctantly, the woman let the man lead her away; Maria heard a door close not too long after they had gotten out of sight.

            "Sit up," the redhead stated abruptly. He moved away from where he had been standing as Maria did so; the girl found herself sitting in what looked like an infirmary.

            "How can you know about something that hasn't happened yet?" the redhead demanded as he started to pace around the end of the bed that had Maria's feet. "That doesn't happen without a reason."

            "Well, _Sleeping Beauty's_ supposed to have been out for a while," Maria argued, glaring at the redhead. After a moment, she blinked in slight confusion, her frown deepening. "At least, it is where I come from..." Realizing her glasses were askew, she reached up and adjusted their position on her nose.

            The redhead stopped mid-step and looked at her with something that might have been surprise, his light green eyes widening.

            "Where you come from?" he repeated. "Are you saying you come from another world?"

            Maria gave a slightly hesitant nod. "Yeah. Me and my sister, but it doesn't look like she's here..." Maria looked around at the room, but didn't see anyone other than herself and the redhead.

            "Sister?" The redhead let out a groan. "You have got to be kidding me. There's another one of you running around?"

            "I just hope she's still not stuck with Malificent," Maria muttered, looking down as she rubbed her left arm.

            The redhead's eyes widened in shock. "Oh, boy. That wouldn't be good."

            "Yeah. Exactly." Maria moved so that she was sitting with her feet dangling over the side. "I'm getting the feeling that Liz and I weren't supposed to leave our world. In fact, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Pete poking his fat nose where it didn't belong." She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

            "Really?" The redhead walked over, crossing his own arms over his own chest. Maria had been ignoring the black outfit he had been wearing, but now she took notice of it.

 _Looks like he still hasn't gotten out of that other costume,_ Maria noted somewhat grimly.

            "What world are you from then?" the redhead asked. "Maybe I can get you home."

            "First we have to find my sister," Maria insisted. "And she could be anywhere."

            The redhead let out a groan. "Listen, kid -"

            "It's Maria. Remember it."

            "And I'm Lea." The boy tapped the side of his head, looking a little annoyed. "I can't just take you along just because you're looking for your sister. You can stay on this sub with the crew while everybody else - including me - can go on this expedition-thingy that this rich old guy set up."

            Maria stiffened when she heard Lea's words. "Sub? As in, submarine?"

            Lea gave the girl a curious expression. "Uh...yeah?"

            "And by 'rich old guy', do you mean someone named Whitmore?"

            Lea blinked, frowned, then gave a slow nod.

            Upon seeing the motion, Maria scrambled off the bed she had been sitting on and dashed for the door, then out into the corridor.

            "Wha - hey!" Lea ran out after her and grabbed Maria's arm. "What's got you so spooked? You look like you might have seen a ghost or something."

            "You would probably do the same thing if you ended up in the same place as one of your most favorite movies!" Maria hissed in reply.

            Lea frowned. "What do you mean?"

            "Where I come from, the stuff you did was made into games, and the stuff that we're in the middle of right now," Maria motioned to the narrow corridor, "is put into movies. This specific movie happens to be one of my favorites."

            Lea stared at Maria. "You can't be serious."

            "I'm about as serious as Riku in the middle of a fight against Heartless right about now." Maria glared up at Lea, then started to look around. "Which way to the front of the sub, anyway?"

            Lea gave Maria a curious look, then glanced down the hall behind him. Looking back at the girl, he stated, "Look, I probably don't have time to tell you everything you should know, but...don't do anything stupid, all right?"

            Maria blinked, then gave a nod. "Yeah. Sure."

            Lea gave a nod. "Good." He turned and started down the corridor, and Maria followed close behind.

            "So, why are you here in this specific world?" Maria asked quietly. She wasn't sure if anyone might have been listening in, but she didn't want anyone to jump in on their conversation.

            Lea glanced back. "Riku and Yen Sid sent me out so that I could wake up other sleeping worlds. Hey dropped me in this place, first."

            "Sleeping worlds?" Maria blinked in confusion.

            "Yeah. Places that got swallowed by the darkness and haven't exactly been brought back to the light yet. It's my job to get to the rest of them."

            Maria's eyes widened. "Rest of them? You mean someone else has woken up other worlds, too?"

            Lea looked back at the girl and gave her a curious look. "Uh...yeah? Sora and Riku had to go through this Mark of Mastery Exam or something. It was supposed to see if either of them were ready to be Keyblade masters."

            Maria felt a chill go down her spine. _That was when... So DDD has happened._

            "And they sent you to go after the rest, " Maria repeated. "Does that make this your Mark of Mastery Exam?"

            Lea's eyes widened. "No! They just want to make sure that I learn stuff!"

            "Oh." Maria smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment at the question. "Ok, then." The smile faded as another thought entered her mind. "But...wouldn't that mean that one of the other Keyblade users would be hanging around somewhere near here? I mean, there's some stuff that you just can't learn by yourself, can you?"

            "I'm used to being alone," Lea replied. "Sora and Riku managed it on the go. I can, too."

            The pair soon reached the front of the sub - a sphere where it seemed that everything was happening - and Maria started to look around in amazement.

            "Wow..." The girl's blue eyes were wide. "This looks so much cooler in person!"

            Lea rolled his eyes. "Calm down, kid. We're not here to sightsee, we're here on an expedition."

            Maria blinked, then a determined look appeared on her face. "Right." Still, the bridge of the sub was really affecting her, and she continued to look around in amazement.

            "Lea!"

            Maria jumped at the sound of the friendly voice and turned when she heard someone call out the name of the Keyblade user standing next to her. Her eyes widened when she saw the muscular, middle-aged man approaching the two.

            "Is this the girl who stowed away on the _Ulysses_?" the man asked, walking over and scanning Maria with a mildly curious expression on his face. He appeared to be somewhat friendly.

            "Yeah," Lea replied. "Kid says her name's Maria."

            The man stiffened. "Maria? That sounds like a German name." His voice suddenly became cold. "She could be a spy from the enemy."

            "Spy?" Maria felt miffed. "Do I look like a spy to you?"

            "I can assure you, she isn't that," Lea stated quickly. "She's not one of those Nazi people."

            Maria's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets, and she looked a little terrified at the idea of her being a Nazi.

            "I can assure you, I'm a hundred percent American!" Maria declared, a terrified look on her face. "I live in Wisconsin!"

            The man raised an eyebrow. "No one's suspecting that you're a Nazi, kid. You could be spying for someone else, though. Someone who wanted to do the same thing that we're doing."

            Maria blinked, then relaxed a little, looking embarrassed. She could feel everyone's stared on her. "Oh. Well, I'm not one of those people, either. If I was, I probably wouldn't be sixteen." She stuffed her hands in her pockets.

            "So, you're a stowaway," the man stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

            "Accidentally," Maria replied, looking a little hurt. "I wasn't planning on turning up here."

            The man let out a chuckle. "That is the odd thing about stowaways. They can't help it." He relaxed and moved to put an arm around Maria, squeezing the girl's shoulder tightly. "Well, we'll have to do something about that, now won't we?"

            Maria swallowed. "Y-yes, sir." She didn't like the look on the man's face - or what his voice sounded like, for that matter.

            The chuckle turned into a laugh. "Look at that! The kid knows her manners already!" Leaning over, the man muttered in her ear, "And I'm Commander Rourke. Remember it."

            Maria gave a nod as Rourke moved away. The name was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it for some reason. She had seen the movie she was standing in the middle of plenty of times before, but the scenes that were going to take place in the future weren't coming to her mind for some reason.

            Whitmore's mansion? Sure, Maria remembered that. But not everything else that came after.

            "Well, that went well," Lea remarked dryly. "Maybe you'll be able to get along with everybody else." The redhead lead Maria over to another area of the bridge, where there was a small group of people who were conversing. Nearby, the scrawny man with the glasses that were too big was looking into a leather-bound book that had a strange symbol on the front cover.

            Maria gave a nervous wave when the group turned to look at her. "Hi." Her voice sounded small - she certainly felt small.

            The tanned girl from before stomped over. "Don't 'hi' me. We're not supposed to have stowaways wandering around here." Maria thought there was an accent in the girl's voice, but she wasn't sure.

            "Like I expected myself to show up here," Maria replied with a helpless shrug.

            Lea gave the group a look. "Her name's Maria, and there's nothing we can do about sending her back home."

            "How do you know?" the girl demanded. "We can always send a sub-pod up to the surface -"

            "We still need everybody, Audrey," an even darker-skinned man remarked. He stepped forward and held out a hand to Maria. "Name's Sweet. Welcome aboard."

            Maria accepted the handshake. "Thanks." She offered the man a smile, then looked around at the rest of the group. "And the rest of you?"

            "That's Vinny," Sweet stated, jabbing with a thumb in the direction of a skinny, black-haired man with a cigar and a mustache. "He's supposed to be our demolitions expert. And Audrey's the mechanic."

            "Humph." Audrey crossed her arms across her chest in an annoyed fashion.

            "And then there's Mole," Sweet continued. He sent a glare at a short man with a lamp attached to the top of his head; the man was grinning maniacally. "No idea what he is."

            "I'm going to help dig!" Mole declared excitedly, his grin getting wider.

            Maria blinked. "O...kay?" She looked over in the direction of the young man with his nose in the book. "And him?"

            Audrey looked over at the scrawny boy. "Him? That's Milo - or something like that. No idea why he's here."

            "Mr. Whitmore had him brought along because he can read that stuff," Lea said, motioning to Milo with one hand. "I had a look in that book. It's complete gibberish."

            The group laughed, but Maria didn't join in. She kept looking over at Milo with a curious expression.

            Eventually, quietly, Maria slipped out of the group and approached Milo with quiet, cautious footsteps. When she got close enough, she stated quietly, "Hey."

            Milo looked up suddenly, surprise in his eyes when he saw someone looking at him from over his book. "Oh! Uh...hi." Milo frowned. "Is there something that you want?"

            Maria shook her head. "I was just curious about what you were reading, that's all. Can I have a look?"

            Milo looked at Maria for a moment, then smiled a little and shook his head. "You won't be able to read it." He turned the book around so that Maria could see what was on the pages. "It's complete gibberish to everyone but me."

            Maria blinked, looking over the pages. There were a couple pictures, but those weren't what she was looking for. Eventually, a slight smirk appeared on her face. "Well, I know what an 'A' is in all this gibberish."

            Milo blinked in surprise. "Really?"

            Maria nodded. "Yeah. The symbol on the cover. It's gotta be an 'A'."

            Milo quickly closed the book and looked at the front cover, his eyes widening as he looked at the letter. "H-how'd you know?" he asked, looking at Maria in alarm.

            Maria gave him a half-shrug. "Intuition." She moved her gaze to out through the glass window and at the dark sea beyond the sub. Something about the view set her on edge, but she made it a point to ignore it. "I've never been under the sea before."

            Milo looked a little confused at the sudden change of subject, then turned to look back at the dark cavern. "Yeah, uh..." A nervous look flitted across his face. "I'd rather prefer to be on dry ground." He looked back at Maria. "So, what you said earlier - about Disney and the Sleeping Beauty story. What did you mean by that?"

            Maria froze, her eyes widening when she realized that she had mentioned something that Milo knew nothing about.

            "Umm..." Maria brought her hands together and started to twiddle her thumbs as she tried to think of something to say that could possibly explain why she knew about something that they claimed hadn't come out yet.

            However, Maria never had to say anything concerning her unusual knowledge.

            The ground under their feet was suddenly rocked; Maria tripped and fell against a railing with a squeak of surprise. Alarms started blaring, and the entire bridge started to glow a bright red.

            Lea looked around, a serious look appearing on his face. "What in the name of Kingdom Hearts is going on here?!" His gloved hands twitched, and he looked like he wanted to grab something and swing it at anyone who came close.

            Maria gripped tightly to the railing. "This isn't good...not good at all." She started to move along the railing towards the exit of the bridge. "We've gotta get out of here!"

            "What do you mean?!" Audrey demanded, running past. "We've just run into a rock or something, that's all!"

            Maria shuddered, and visions came into her sight unbidden. _A mechanical monster...electric sparks..._

            "I-it's definitely not a rock," Maria stammered, her eyes wide.

            The sub moved again, and Maria found herself gripping the railing tightly as her legs dangled in the air. Below her, a giant red orb with a yellow center was glaring up at Milo and Lea.

            "Jiminy Christmas!" Milo yelped. "It's a MACHINE!"

            "We have to get out of here!" Maria screamed from above. "Hurry!" She started to try to climb up the railing, but she wasn't able to get a good foothold, and her grip started to slip. As she started to fall, she started to scrabble more frantically. Right before she fell, a hand reached out a gripped her arm.

            "You look like you could use a little help."

            Maria looked up, blinking in confusion and surprise at Rourke, who was giving the girl a slight smirk. He then pulled her up to her feet as Lea helped Milo climb up with unusual swiftness.

            "We have to get to the sub-pods before that thing takes us down," Rourke stated quickly. "Come on - all of you!" He started off down the corridor. The three others followed behind with equal speed.

            The corridors were though to navigate - some were ankle-deep with cold, salt water, and others had been sealed off. Rourke, who seemed to know the sub like the back of his hand, led them to the docking bay.

            "About time you got here!" A blond-haired woman glared at them from the top of a small submarine - the last one in the room. "Audrey was just about ready to hit the ignition switch himself!"

            "Like you were going to let her," Rourke replied. He cupped his hands and nodded to Maria. "Up you get."

            Maria blinked in confusion, then, realizing what Rourke was doing, out a foot on his hands and pushed herself up, the muscular man lifting her up the rest of the way so that she could get inside. The blond-haired woman helped her in the rest of the way.

            "All right, stowaway," the woman growled. "In the back." She pushed Maria in the direction of the back of the sub; she landed in a seat and quickly buckled herself in.

            Milo landed in the seat next to Maria, looking completely terrified out of his wits.

            "We're gonna die, we're gonna die," Milo muttered, terrified.

            "We're not gonna die," Lea replied as he slipped into his own seat. The sub started moving as Rourke closed the top and sealed it shut. "Relax, will you? We'll make it."

            "Easy for you to say!" Milo shot back. "You're pretty much built for this!"

            There was a sudden jolt; Maria gripped her seat's arms and shut her eyes tightly. Flickers of scenes went through the blackness - electricity zapping other pods; falling into a crevice - but she did her best to ignore them. Her muscles tensed up; Maria felt absolutely terrified.

            There was another sudden drop; Maria could hear (at her left) Milo chattering something about the pipes of a kitchen sink in some sort of terrified mantra. To her right, Lea was letting out a laugh and a delighted cheer every time Maria's stomach dropped to her feet or rose suddenly to her throat.

            And then it was all over, reduced to a slow, gentle rocking that still sent chills down Maria's spine.

            "Sheesh, Maria, you look like you've seen a ghost or something," Lea remarked.

            Maria cautiously opened one eye, then the other as a look of relief came over his face. "Y-yeah. I'm...not really built for action like that."

            "Y-you and me both," Milo stammered.

            The sub came up against something; Maria was glad she was wearing a seatbelt, because she was certain she would have ended up getting jolted onto the floor.

            "Well, we'd better get out and see what's what," the blond-haired woman remarked dryly.


	4. Start Another Adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we start jumping back and forth between Maria and Liz.
> 
> And I continue to shudder at how terrible my writing was in the past.

            Liz growled as she paced around in the guest bedroom that Yen Sid had lent her for her own use. As soon as the old wizard had come to the realization that Maria was somewhere in the sleeping worlds, he had sent her up to this room and practically locked her in, telling Liz that she wasn't going to leave until they found her sister.

            The blue-eyed girl was starting to feel annoyed to no end.

            Liz was about to make what seemed like the twentieth pass around her room when the door suddenly opened, and a boy with spiky brown hair and a playful look on his face entered the room.

            "Hi!" The boy grinned. "You're Liz, right? The girl Yen Sid told me about?"

            Liz blinked, then gave a slow nod. "Yeah. And you're Sora."

            Sora's grin became wider, not bothering to respond to the determined in Liz's voice. "Yup! It's it true that you came from another world with your sister?"

            Liz gave another nod. "Yeah." An annoyed look crossed her face. "Yen Sid won't let me leave to go look for my sister, though."

            "I'm sure he's got a good reason for it," Sora replied. "He was a Keyblade Master."

            "Well, yeah, but sometimes you just have to let sisters go out and hunt each other down," Liz replied angrily. "Besides, I was kind of hoping to do some world-exploring myself..." The angered look gave way to a tired, frustrated one, and the girl let out a sigh.

            Sora cocked his head slightly, looking at Liz with a curious expression. A frown flitted across his face for a moment, but it quickly brightened into a grin. "How about I take you to another world?"

            Liz looked at the boy in surprise. "You? But Yen Sid said -"

            "So long as the Keyblade wielder goes along with you, I see no harm in it."

            The two turned to face the doorway, Liz's eyes widening in surprise upon seeing the wizard standing there, a patient smile on his face.

            "Perhaps you ought to take one other along with you," the wizard continued. He moved to one side, and a girl with short, dark red hair ran into the room, a delighted look on her face.

            "Kairi!" Sora exclaimed as he was slammed into by the girl.

            "Riku has already left in search of Maria," Yen Sid continued. "As it will take some time for him to find her, you may travel to one world that has need of assistance against the Heartless. One world only, Liz."

            Liz smiled and gave a nod. "Right." She looked at the other two. "Where do you want to go?"

            "I've kind of wanted to visit Jack Sparrow again," Sora admitted. "It's been a while since I've last seen him. Besides, we could go treasure hunting!"

            "I kind of want to go on an adventure," Kairi agreed, "but not to wherever those pirates are. I've heard more than I want to know about that place."

            Sora gave Kairi a pouting look, causing Liz to chuckle.

            "I believe you can have both in one world," Yen Sid remarked. "There is one place I am aware of that has not had its heart sealed. You may travel there and seal it."

            Liz grinned. "Awesome! Where is it?"

            "It is a world known for its connection to other worlds." Yen Sid raised an arm, and a portal appeared behind the three. "I will send you to the BenBow Inn. Your adventure begins there."

            "Awesome!" Sora exclaimed, grinning. He started towards the portal, then stepped inside. Kairi and Liz quickly followed.

            They stepped out of the other side of the portal just as a dark, clouded sky rumbled with thunder and exploded in rain.

            "We have to get inside!" Liz yelped as she was quickly soaked. She started to look around for a shelter to wait out the rain.

            "There!" Kairi pointed towards a building that was nearby; yellow squares of light were shining out of the windows. "Let's go!"

            The three kids quickly scrambled inside, the door slamming shut behind Liz once they were a safe distance away from the rain.

            "Oh, my!" A young woman ran over to the three. She looked ragged and was wearing a dress that looked extremely worn. "You three look soaked to the bone! Here, come over by the fireplace - I'm going to go get some blankets." The woman escorted the three over to the roaring fire, then disappeared upstairs.

            Liz blinked, watched after the blur of movement for a moment, then turned her attention to the rest of those who were in the room.

            Inside the inn, there were no customers, as they had either gone home or up the stairs to their rooms. The was only one person sitting at a table - a dog in what seemed to be the outfit of a gentleman, including a brown suit, a red scarf, and a monocle. For the most part, it looked like a place that someone might find back in England during the time of Sherlock Holmes...except for the blinds that covered the windows.

            Liz took off her soaked jacket and started to rub her arms vigorously in order to try and warm up. She smirked at the blinds.

            "My mom would want something like that for our windows," she remarked, motioning to the scene of a flowery meadow that was on the blinds. "It would help brighten up the winter months."  

            Something about the scene unfolding around Liz seemed familiar to the girl somehow, creating an itch at the back of her mind. The thought was quickly gone in an instant, however, and it was just as soon forgotten.

            The woman soon returned, carrying thick blankets, which she promptly wrapped around the three kids. "There. Are you three comfortable?"

            Sora gave a nod. "Thanks, ma'am." He wrapped his blanket closer around himself, then moved closer to Kairi and helped her with her blanket.

            Liz forced herself not to chuckle. _Awwww._

            The door suddenly opened as lightning flashed and another thunder rumble shook the building. The light revealed a boy with brown hair, and wearing red boots with black and olive green jeans, a tan shirt, and a dark green jacket. He was supporting a giant lizard-like figure, who was wearing a large black jacket and carrying a chest. The boy dragged the lizard inside as the woman ran over, a terrified look on her face; the dog man leapt to his feet and ran over, as well.

            "James Pleiades Hawkins!" the woman exclaimed, worried tones in her voice.

            "Mom, he's hurt," the boy - James - replied. He moved to lower the lizard down to the floor; the small chest was dropped with a clang.

            Sora jumped to his feet, the blanket piling up around his feet. "Whoa. Who's that?"

            Liz and Kairi slowly got up and started over to the commotion, both girls cautious of the strange lizard-man.

            "Me chest, lad," the lizard moaned. He reached over to the chest and moved his claws over the three symbols on the front. The chest promptly popped open, revealing a brass sphere. "He's coming soon. Can't let him find this." The lizard grabbed the sphere and pressed it into James' hands.

            "Who's coming?" James asked, giving he lizard a confused look.

            The creature grabbed James' shirt collar and dragged himself up into the boy's face. "The cyborg!" the lizard hissed. His group loosened, and he started to fall back, moaning, "Beware the cyborg..."

            The dog quickly bent over the lizard and started to feel for a pulse.

            "Is he...?" Kairi couldn't get the word out. She looked a little sick.

            Liz felt the same. Watching this event on TV had made it seem more untouchable. Seeing it right in front of her...not so much.

            The dog sighed, and he moved back from the lizard-creature. "I'm afraid so." He sounded a little dejected.

            James ran over to the window and opened the shade a little, breaking the picture of a flowery meadow. Liz moved behind him in order to get a better look at what he may gave been looking at. Her eyes widened, and she started to back up.

            Outside, there was a large group of figures, one of whom seemed to have a gun for his arm.

            "We gotta go!" James exclaimed. He turned and dashed up the stairs.

            The dog took one look out the window and yelped. "I believe I'm with Jim on this one!" He ran after the boy.

            "Come on, you three!" the woman - James' mother - told Liz and the others. "It's not safe here!" she herded the three children up the stairs after the other two - but not before Liz managed to grab her jacket from where it sat by the fireplace.

            As they disappeared into the hallway upstairs, a figure broke down the door, ordering, "Find it!"

            At the same time, the kitchen suddenly burst into flames.

            Liz, Sora, Kairi, and James' mother quickly moved to the end of the hall, where there was a window looking out over a small carriage-like vehicle, the seats still dry even with the downpour. James and the dog were already there, waiting for them.

            "Don't worry, Sarah," the dog said hurriedly. "I'm an expert in the laws of physical science. On the count of three. One, two, three!" Grabbing her hand, he jumped into the carriage. Jim quickly followed.

            Sora gave Kairi his hand, which she took nervously. The two gave each other a nod, then jumped into the carriage.

            "Come on!" Sora called up to Liz. "We've gotta go!"

            "I know!" Liz yelled back. She jumped off the ledge of the window, landing nearly on top of Jim, who gave her an annoyed look.

            "Go, Delilah, go!" the dog yelled at the giant frog-like creature in front of the carriage.

            The figure nodded and flicked the reins, making chirping noises at the steeds in front of the carriage as she did so.

            The crickets that were in front of the carriage flicked open their wings and flew forward, allowing the carriage to take to the air.

            Behind them, the BenBow Inn rose up in flames.

            As the carriage jolted and started to level out, Mrs. Hawkins turned to look at the three extra passengers they had picked up.

            "Who are you three?" she asked, looking at each of them.

            "I'm Kari." The Princess of Heart gave a gentle smile.

            "I'm Sora!" Sora gave Mrs. Hawkins a grin.

            "Call me Liz," Liz stated with a nod and a smile.

            Mrs. Hawkins gave Liz a curious look. "Call you? Are you saying that's not your real name?"

            Sora and Kairi looked at each other, then looked at Liz, who blinked, then let out a sigh.

            "My real name is Elizabeth," Liz admitted. "But I think it's a bit of a mouthful, so I ask people to call me Liz."

            Mrs. Hawkins tilted her head a minute amount, frowning. "I haven't heard a name shortened in that way before."

            "It's pretty common where I come from." Liz shrugged carelessly.

            Jim gave Liz a curious look. "Where you come from?" he repeated.

            "Yeah." Liz looked at Jim with an annoyed expression. Something slipped into the back of her mind, and she explained, "My parents let me go on a cross-country trip with my friends." She gave a shrug. "They suggested that we get a good look at the world around us before we grew up."

            "Well, you're not going to be going anywhere for a couple days," the dog stated. He turned around to look at the kids. "Don't want you getting hypothermia on my watch." He turned around again, then started to give directions to the toad woman driving the carriage.

            "Oh, come on," Sora started.

            "Doppler's right," Mrs. Hawkins interrupted. "You three are going to stay at his house with us for a couple days. We'll let you go when I know you're not going to die of pneumonia."

            Liz looked annoyed, and she crossed her arms over her chest. This was going to be a long trip.


	5. Fire Power!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now Maria learns to defend herself. At this point, I think it's pretty clear which of the two sisters is the reason for the "self-insert-ish" tag and which one isn't.

            Maria watched as Sweet placed a candle on the water and pushed it out into the darkness of the cavern. The high ceilings and near-complete silence made the cave feel like an abandoned cathedral - which Maria didn't necessarily like the feel of. Abandoned anything made the building more...haunted, and a cave that felt like that never really boded well.

            Rourke started to pray aloud, starting with "Dear Lord," and continuing to ask that God bless the souls of those who had been lost and lead them to their final resting place.

            Maria considered listening and bowing her head in respect, but as soon as she heard the man say "Saint Mary," she figured that she probably shouldn't. Most of the people here were most likely Catholic, not Lutheran. Instead, she said her own prayer under her breath.

            When she finished, Maria looked around, scanning each of the beached sub-pods, the look on her face clearly saying that she wanted to get moving rather than stand where she was. Everyone else who had survived the attack from the monster-machine had grim looks on their faces.

            Rourke soon finished his prayer, and the cavern fell into silence.

            "Well, we can't head back," Lea finally remarked from where he stood next to Maria. "Not with the sub blown to bits."

            "And the Kraken's cousin roaming around," Maria muttered under her breath in a grim tone.

            Lea looked around himself, taking note of how few people actually got out of the Ulysses in time. "Man, this expedition's gonna be a bit harder than we thought. At least we've got stuff to ride in." He motioned to the vehicles that had been moved out of the larger sub-pods.

            Maria figured that Mole would be fawning over the large drill later.

            Rourke turned away from the water, and looked at Milo with a serious, grim countenance. "Well son, you and that blasted book got us into this mess," he stated, motioning to the book in Milo's hands, "and you're going to get us out of it. Lead us to Atlantis, Milo."

            Maria stiffened when she heard what Rourke had said. _Atlantis_. A look of realization spread across her face. _Oh, yeah. I should've remembered that._

            Milo nodded, a nervous look on his face. Maria had learned by now that it never seemed to leave him. "I-I'll try, Commander. I haven't got the Journal fully translated, so it might take a while."

            "Atlantis may as well be our ticket out of here, Milo," Rourke replied. "We have the rest of our lives to look for it."

            "Well, what are we waiting for?" Audrey asked. "Let's find this place and just get it over with."

            The group of survivors split and started to head for the vehicles; Maria stayed close to Lea out of nervousness of everyone else around her.

            "You know, you don't have to stick to me like this," Lea remarked, looking down at Maria.

            Maria looked up at the redhead, then around again. The pair was walking towards a blue truck that had crates in the back, but the one that got Maria's attention was the little white vehicle that Milo had found; already he was working away at the horn and the different levers that probably made the thing move.

            "I'm just...still trying to adjust to the whole idea of me being here, rather than at home on spring break." Maria smiled sheepishly. "And besides, I think I know you better than anyone else here."

            "Oh?" Lea looked curious.

            "You can only get so much from watching one movie." Maria rubbed the back of her head as they reached the truck. "And it seems that I can't remember everything that happens in the future..."

            "Remember what happens in the future?" Lea blinked, then frowned. "That...doesn't make any sense."

            Maria smiled slightly, then chuckled. "Yeah, I guess not. But it makes sense in a way - to me, I mean. I've seen what's going to happen, because of the whole movie thing, but I guess I'm not supposed to say anything about what I know or something."

            "...You're still not making any sense."

            "Hey!" Audrey poked her head out of the driver's side of the truck. "Are you two going to get in or not?!"

            "We are," Lea called back. He jumped into the back of the truck.

            Maria attempted to follow him, but found it a bit difficult to climb up over the edge of the truck's back and into the pile of crates. She suddenly felt someone grab the back of her shirt and pull her over and into the truck bed.

            "You're definitely going to gain some muscle by the end of this," Lea remarked dryly.

            The truck's engine was started, and the vehicle rolled over a rock on the cave floor; Maria grabbed hold of a side of the truck bed to keep herself as still as possible. Slowly, the caravan started rolling out of the cavern, leaving the sub-pods and the entrance behind.

            "You never really got to explain what you were talking about back on the sub," Lea noted as they rolled up a slope and into an opening in the wall.

            Maria's gaze moved from where she had been staring ahead at the back of Mole's drill.

            Lea seemed to have taken note of her confused look, because he added, "The movies and games thing."

            "Oh." Maria realized that she hadn't been able to explain how she knew that. Quickly gathering her thoughts together, she explained, "On my world, we've got access to different kinds of entertainment that talks about stuff that happened in fairy tales and things - Sleeping Beauty, for instance. Or Snow White. Even the lost legend of Atlantis." Maria emphasized the last word on purpose. "And the games thing lets us play as characters in those stories - there's even a few with you in them."

            Lea looked interested. "Really?"

            "Yeah. We don't get to play as you all that often, though - I think you're playable from the time when you were a Nobody, but nothing with how you are now just yet."

            A frown appeared on Lea's face. "But you did get to see me rescue Sora from Xehanort."

            Maria nodded vigorously. "Yeah - that was in the recent game, Dream Drop Distance. I don't have it myself, but I've seen what goes on in the game. Believe me, it was a relief to see that you were whole and a Keyblade user."

            Lea's frown morphed slightly to show a proud expression, but then he looked a little suspicious.

            "Kid, what you're saying is impossible," the redhead stated. "The other worlds I've traveled to don't know of each other. How can you know about the other worlds?"

            Maria shrugged helplessly. "How should I know? I wasn't the one who came up with all those movies." A frown appeared on her face. "But it does raise a few questions. What if the other worlds I know about actually exist?"

            She returned her gaze to the back of Mole's drill as she started to consider this. If the Kingdom Hearts stories were real, then what if everything else she knew to be figments of imagination were actually worlds of their own? The thought made her heart rush with excitement - but then it turned to fear.

            If Pete could access my world, whose to say that the other villains of other worlds can't?

            That thought sent chills down the girl's spine.

            "You don't seem to be too worried about trying to find a way back to wherever you came from," Lea noted.

            Maria looked over at him. "Oh, I am - trust me. But what I'm worried about more is finding my sister. Liz is younger than I am, and as her older sister, it's a point of mine to worry about how she's doing - and where she is." She crossed her arms over her chest, the thoughts of other worlds disappearing from her mind as all her concentration went to Liz. "I mean, last thing I remember is getting blasted by this magic shockwave or something."

            Lea's eyes widened. "Magic shockwave?"

            Maria gave a nod. "Yeah. From Malificent." A dry smile slipped onto her face. "We called her a hag. She didn't take it too well."

            Lea blinked, but then a grin slowly appeared on his face. "I wouldn't think so." The grin faded. "That must've been some blast, though, if it sent you here. Your sis could be here, too."

            Maria gave the redhead a curious look. "You think so?"

            "It makes the most sense. She could be anywhere around here."

            "You have a sister?" Audrey poked her head out the driver's side window and looked back at the two; the mechanic's foot remained on the gas in order to keep the truck moving.

            Maria looked over at Audrey in surprise, then gave a slight nod. "Yeah. A younger one."

            "I've got an older sister - she's a boxer. Taught me how to defend myself." A grin appeared on the mechanic's face, and she turned around and faced the road again...only to suddenly slam on the brakes.

            Lea leapt to his feet when he saw the strange, colorful rock monsters that were starting to appear out of the walls. "Dream Eaters!"

            Maria got to her feet herself, only to barely avoid getting hit by a small sphere that had been fired from one of the creatures. This caused her to promptly sit down again, hiding behind the back of the truck's cab. "What are we going to do?"

            Lea glanced over at her, then quickly summoned a blade that looked like it was a tongue of flame. Hitting back the rocks that were being thrown at him, he asked, "Do you know anything about fighting?"

            Maria adopted a terrified look on her face, and she shook her head vigorously. "No! I haven't done anything like this before!"

            Lea looked at her in disbelief, then frowned. "Stay here, then. And don't try to do anything stupid." He jumped out of he truck bed and started for the rock-like Dream Eaters.

            The others in the trucks started to come up with guns, aiming out of the cars' windows and firing a couple shots before Lea shouted at them.

            "That isn't going to do anything!" the redhead shouted. "Save that stuff for later, when you really can use it!" He whacked away at one of the Dream Eaters, causing it to fall into a small pile of painted boulders, then dissipated into smoke.

            "What do you want us to do, then?" Audrey called. "Sit and wait and possibly get killed?!"

            "Do you have any better ideas?!"

            Maria peeked over the top of the truck cab, then her eyes widened and she ducked as a rock was shot in her direction. She could hear Lea having at the Dream Eaters, but she felt terrified and extremely helpless.

            _Wait a minute... Dream Eaters? Where are the Heartless? Aren't there supposed to be Heartless?_

            Maria blinked in confusion, then frowned. Something wasn't right. _The only time she ever saw Dream Eaters was..._ Her eyes widened. _Oh, right. I'm in one of_ those _worlds._

            There was the sound of something hitting the top of the truck cab, and Audrey let out a yell and called out something that sounded like it might have been Spanish.

            Maria was glad she hadn't decided taken any Spanish classes. All the same, she looked up in order to see what it might have been that Audrey had been yelling at.

            There was a rock monster painted in red, yellow, green, and purple with a crazy-looking head ornament looking down at Maria. The girl froze in fear.

            "Lea!" Maria yelled. Her voice echoed through the tunnel, but all it did was attract attention from more of the Dream Eaters. Soon, there were at least five of them surrounding the truck. They stared at Maria - whether from curiosity or something else, she wasn't sure.

            One thing she was sure of, though - she didn't necessarily like the fact that she was surrounded.

            Inside Maria, something snapped.

            The terrified look on her face disappeared as a determined glare replaced it. Maria slowly got up to her full height. It felt like her temperature rose with the movement, but the reason why wasn't revealed...until a staff of pure flames exploded into her hands.

            With a roar, Maria whirled around, causing the fire to hit each one of the Dream Eaters back, throwing them off the back of the truck bed right before the fire dissipated from between her fingers.

            Lea ended up catching one of the Dream Eaters in the back, then made quick work of the others before jumping onto the truck bed. He gave Maria a slightly amused look.

            "Said you couldn't fight, huh?" he asked with a smirk.

            "I - I didn't -" Maria had to take a couple breaths to calm herself; the adrenaline flowing through her didn't help very much. Looking at Lea, the surprise still on her face, she stated, "I didn't know I had it in me!" She looked down at her hands, looking at them like they weren't even a part of her.

            A sudden wave of exhaustion caused her to collapse to her knees onto a crate.

            "You look like you've just lost a lot of energy," Lea noted. A frown flickered onto his face. "Kind of like when a Nobody starts to lose energy..." He gave Maria a strange look.

            "I can assure you, I'm completely whole," Maria stated, looking up at the Keyblade user. "Heartless exist nowhere in our world. Sure, there are dark hearts, but Heartless can't enter our world."

            Lea looked bemused as the engines started up along the line of cars. "A no-Heartless world and a girl who can use fire? Kid, your story keeps getting more messed up."

            "Problem is, I don't know how to control this fire that I've got in me." Maria looked down at her hands again, eyes widening in alarm when flames flickered across her palms for a moment before disappearing again. Her eyes locking again with Lea's, Maria stated, "You know how to use this stuff. Think you could...teach me?"

            Lea blinked, looking Maria over for a moment before moving his gaze to the back of Mole's drill. He looked like he was either lost in thought...or a little disconcerted with the whole idea of teaching someone how to use firepower.

            Maria felt like a cold breeze was going through the cavern. She shifted into a more comfortable sitting position, crossing her arms in order to keep her hands warm. She found it ironic, considering that they had been spitting fire moments ago.

            "You do realize you're asking me to do something I've never done before," Lea finally stated, looking over at Maria. "Showing people how to fight? Sure, I did that with..." He trailed off and shook his head. "But other fire users? I had to learn on my own. There's no way that this is going to be easy."

            "If I'm going to be able to know how to control this, I'm up to it," Maria replied in a serious tone. "Next time we stop for camp, let's see if this works."

            **Time Break**

            "I don't think this is working, Lea!" Maria dropped the boulder, an annoyed look on her face as she panted heavily. Picking up her jacket, which she had taken off during the course of the exercise, the girl wiped the sweat off with one of the sleeves.

            "You don't know if it's working or not until I see how it turns out," Lea replied, smirking. He slid off the rock he had been sitting on, walking over towards his student. "Let's see if you can summon that fire now."

            "How?" Maria demanded. "It's not like I can just flip a switch and there it is!"

            "Focus on your anger," Lea replied. "That's how I first found out." He moved his gaze up to a section of the ceiling. "Unless you want to go back to moving boulders around for no apparent reason."

            Maria let out a low growl as she glared at Lea. Flames licked up her arms, but the girl didn't notice.

            Lea blinked. "Really? That's all you've got? Man, it must be hard to get you mad."

            Maria frowned. "Get me mad? Is that what you were trying to do with all this?" She motioned to the boulders she had moved around, a surprised look on her face.

            Lea gave a nod. "That's how I learned about mine." He adopted a more comfortable pose on his boulder. "See, before I...met up with everybody else, I was working with a different gang."

            Maria frowned slightly. "Are you...referring to the Nobodies?"

            Lea gained a guarded expression. "Yeah. Them. One of them tried to boss me around, but I wasn't going to take it from them - especially considering that we were friends. I blew up in his face and burned a lot of his hair off." A smirk crept onto his face. "Course, I got punished for it, but it was worth it."

            Maria's eyes widened, and a grin spread across her face. "Cool. Who was it?" She chuckled. "No, don't tell me. It was Saix, wasn't it?"

            Instead of letting out a short laugh himself, Lea gained a somewhat depressed look and concentrated his gaze on a nearby boulder.

            Maria saw the look on the Keyblade user's face and frowned, blinking in confusion. After a moment, a clip from a cutscene she had watched slipped into her mind, and her eyes widened.

            "Ooh." Maria bit down on her lower lip. "Lea, I'm sorry. I...wasn't exactly thinking."

            Lea glanced over at Maria, but said nothing.

            "Look, I know I appeared a bit late to help keep Siax - Isa - from Xehanort -"

            "Maria."

            Maria stopped her rant and looked over at Lea in confusion.

            "It's okay, all right?" Lea looked over at her with an irritated expression. "There probably wouldn't have been anything that you could have done."

            "Don't say that!" Maria stomped a foot on the ground out of frustration, a determined expression appearing on her face. "There's always something that can be done, whether it saves someone's life or not! I could've helped find a way to remove Xehanort's from him! I could've -" Maria let out a roar of anger. "Don't lose hope just because your best friend's being mind-controlled by that idiot!"

            With that exclamation, Maria felt like her temperature had just spiked, and with another yell, her entire body burst into flames, doing a better job of lighting up the area than the torches Lea had made for the training ground. The flames quickly died, however, leaving Maria panting from exertion.

            Lea, who had been watching the spectacle with surprise, slipped off his boulder and walked over. Ruffling Maria's hair, he murmured, "I never lost hope." The redhead then continued to the campsite without another word.

            Maria turned around, watching as Lea walked away. She felt exhausted, but also like she had accomplished something. Looking down at her hands, she started to concentrate, trying to will the fire she had in her to surface. Watching the flames dance, a smirk snuck onto her face, then morphed into a full-blown smile.

            Releasing her hold on the fire, Maria started for the campsite herself. She felt very accomplished.


	6. Treasure Map

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it seems Liz has something she can fight with. And she's got Heartless problems while Maria's dealing with Dream Eaters.
> 
> I think I can see that my writing's starting to improve at least a little bit here....

            Liz relaxed quietly in a red armchair next to the fireplace in the living room of Dr. Delbert Doppler's home as everyone waited for the dog's return. Sora and Kairi were sitting on a green couch with Jim sitting between them, looking at the strange sphere the lizard had given him. All the travelers had been relatively dried and warmed on the way to the dog's mansion, and now at least two of them were waiting for something to happen that could jumpstart the part of the journey where treasure and ships were involved.

            Sora was definitely the most jittery about this. He kept looking over Jim's shoulder in order to see what he was doing to the brass sphere. Whenever Jim would look up to glare at Sora, though, the Keyblade user would quickly scoot away and start looking at the ceiling.

            Mrs. Hawkins was the only one not sitting. Instead, she paced nervously, waiting for Dr. Doppler to return from a talk with the police.

            Doppler suddenly ran into the room, taking off his coat as he did.

            "I just spoke with the constabulary," he explained. "Those blasted pirates have vanished without a trace." He took Mrs. Hawkins' hands in his. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm afraid the old BenBow Inn has burned to the ground."

            Mrs. Hawkins sighed and slipped her hands out of Dr. Doppler's grasp.

            The dog coughed. "Well, there's certainly a lot of trouble over that odd little sphere. Those markings baffle me; they're unlike anything I've ever seen."

            Liz heard the sound of gears turning, causing her to look up and over in the direction of the noise. A smirk appeared on her face when Sora, Kairi, and Jim looked at the sphere in surprise as it started to spin, glowing a bright green along the carved lines.

            "Even with my vast experience and superior intellect, it would take me years to unlock its- " Dr. Doppler stopped with an exclamation of surprise as a green holographic grid suddenly expanded from the sphere, causing the rest of the lights in the room to dim.

            Jim got up and walked into the center of the room, still holding the sphere, which had now gone dark. Sora, Liz, and Kairi also got up from their seats; they looked around in amazement as holographic, green figures began to appear - stars and planets, forming constellations that would normally be seen through a telescope.

            "Looks like Jim solved it in a few seconds," Liz noted with awe in her voice. She spun around, trying to get a good, long look at the hologram that now encompassed them.

            "This is so cool!" Sora exclaimed, grinning.

            "Ooh!" Dr. Doppler pointed at a little planet that was practically in front of his nose. "This is us, the planet Montressor." The dog let out a gasp when he caught sight of a collection of stars; he moved over to them, exclaiming, "That's the Magellanic Cloud!" Then he took note of a spiral of stars and pointed at it, continuing, "And that's the Coral Galaxy!" He touched the spiral, causing the grid to start moving past him. Dr. Doppler continued to name different sections of space, saying, "That's the Cygnus Cross, and there's the Kerian Abyss."

            The hologram's movement started to slow, then a large sphere took up the space in the center of the room as the rest of the hologram disappeared. It took Liz a moment to realize that the design carved onto the sphere Jim was holding was the exact same design as was on the holographic planet. The only difference between the two was that the planet had two rings made of space rock and dust crossing at perpendicular angles.

            Doppler looked at the planet, eyes wide. "What's this?" He squinted, then out a gasp. "Why, it's -"

            "Treasure Planet," Jim finished.

            Sora's eyes widened upon hearing this. "Treasure Planet?"

            Doppler looked at Jim. "No!"

            "That's Treasure Planet!" Jim repeated, excited. A grin started to spread across his face as he looked at the planet.

            "Flint's treasure trove?" Doppler asked. "The loot of a thousand worlds?"

            "Whoa!" Kairi exclaimed.

            "That's a lot of treasure," Sora agreed. He looked from Kairi to the holographic planet.

            "You know what this means?" Doppler asked, looking at Jim with an eager expression.

            "It means all that treasure's a boat ride away," Jim replied, nodding.

            Sora looked over at Liz, grinning. "This is so cool!"

            Liz nodded in agreement, a grin on her own face.

            "Whoever brings it back would hold the eternal place atop the pantheon of explorers!" Doppler's eyes were shining in delight. "He'd be able to experience -"

            The map suddenly vanished, disappearing back into the sphere with just a touch from Jim's fingers. The dimmed lights came back to their full strength.

            While Doppler looked around in confusion, Jim dashed over to his mother. "Mom, this is it, this is the answer to all our problems!"

            Mrs. Hawkins gained a worried expression. "Jim there is no way -"

            "Don't you remember all those stories?" Jim insisted.

            "But that's all they were - stories!" Mrs. Hawkins retorted.

            "With that treasure...we could rebuild the BenBow Inn a hundred times over!"

            "I'd kind of like to see that much treasure," Sora said with excitement to Liz and Kairi. "And go on the ship that would take us there."

            Mrs. Hawkins, who hadn't heard Sora's statement, looked over at Doppler. "Delbert, would you please explain how ridiculous this is?"

            The dog turned to look at Jim. "Now, it's totally preposterous...traversing the entire galaxy alone."

            Mrs. Hawkins sighed. "At last, we have some sense."

            "And that's why I'm going with you!"

            "Delbert!"

            Liz nearly burst into laughter at this sudden exclamation. Sora and Kairi hid their grins behind their hands, the two shaking with their own laughter.

            "I'll use my life savings to finance an expedition," the dog continued, ignoring Mrs. Hawkins' shocked look. "I'll commission a ship, hire a captain and crew..."

            "You're not serious!" Mrs. Hawkins exclaimed.

            "All my life I've been waiting for an opportunity like this," Doppler said with a faraway look in his eyes, "and here it is screaming 'Go Delbert! Go Delbert!'"

            "You're both grounded!" Mrs. Hawkins shouted, desperate.

            Jim let out a sigh and walked over to his mom. "Mom, look. I know that I keep messing everything up, and I know that I let you down. But this is my chance to make everything up to you. I'm gonna set things right."

            Delbert walked over. "Sarah, if I may? There are worse remedies than a few character-building months in space."

            Mrs. Hawkins looked at him. "Are you saying this because it's the right thing, or do you really want to go?"

            "I really, really, really want to go," Doppler admitted, looking a little embarrassed.

            "It can be the right thing, too," Liz spoke up. She walked over to the group of three. "If you don't mind, Dr. Doppler, would it be all right if by friends and I came along?"

            The dog looked at her in surprise. "Why?"

            "A treasure hunt on this level is a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Sora spoke up. "We'd kind of like to come along and see how this turns out."

            Liz smirked, thinking back to what she knew of Sora's adventures on ships and with pirates.

            Mrs. Hawkins frowned. "You will have to discuss it with your parents first."

            "What they don't know won't hurt them," Liz replied carelessly. "Besides, they already gave us permission to take a little cross-planet trip. Why not make it a trip across the galaxy?"

            Doppler was now frowning. "I don't know..."

            "We've seen the map, too," Sora pointed out. "We could accidentally let it slip that Treasure Planet does exist..."

            Doppler took the hint, but not in the way Sora had intended him to. "Then you'll stay here in my home until we return."

            Suddenly, the lights began to flicker, as they had when Jim had activated the map. Sora and Kairi summoned their Keyblades as spots of black appeared in the floor. Liz back up from the spots and started to glare at her right hand venomously.

            "Heartless!" Kairi exclaimed. She started to wave around the flowery Keyblade she wielded, whacking back the little black monsters as they started to materialize.

            Doppler let out a girlish squeal and hid behind the couch, where Mrs. Hawkins quickly joined him.

            Jim, however, wasn't exactly able to flee, because he was quickly surrounded by a small crowd of Heartless.

            "Jim!" Liz exclaimed in alarm. She glared down at her hand, and this time her sword appeared readily. Dashing forward, she slashed into some of the Heartless, then moved back quickly before one of them could try to attack her.

            Sora and Kairi, however, were having an easier time of it. They slashed into the Heartless crowd and made their way to Jim, where they started to circle, keeping the Heartless back from the boy.

            "What did you call these things?" Jim asked over the noise of the dark monsters squelching against the blades. "Heartless?"

            Sora nodded, not bothering to look back at Jim. "They're creatures that steal people's hearts and coat them in darkness," he explained. "If they're here, that means someone with a lot of dark power must be in this world. I've run into guys like that before.

            "They were probably sent by that cyborg guy who was after the map, back at the Inn," Liz realized.

            "Is there any way to defeat them?" Doppler asked as he peered over the couch.

            "Sure," Sora replied. He swung his Keyblade, taking out more of the Heartless. Kairi sent a blast of what looked like ice magic from her blade at another section, causing the Heartless to dissolve as the ice took hold. Within minutes, the Heartless ceased to exist.

            Doppler got up from where he had been kneeling behind the couch, then helped Mrs. Hawkins up. He looked over at Liz, Sora, and Kairi, who still had their blades out.

            After nervously clearing his throat, he said, "I guess it would be all right if you three came along. We are going to have need of those skills of yours in case those Heartless come around again."

            "YES!" Liz and Sora exclaimed.

            Mrs. Hawkins looked worried. "Jim, Delbert, I can't let you go if these creatures are roaming about! They could -"

            "Don't worry, Mom," Jim said. "You won't. We have these three with us."

            "Our names are Liz, Sora, and Kairi," Liz reminded him. Her, Sora's, and Kairi's blades vanished as she continued, "We'll make sure nothing happens to him, Mrs. Hawkins."

            Mrs. Hawkins looked at Liz, and seeing the determined look, nodded. "All right. Just be careful, okay?"

            Liz, Sora, and Kairi nodded.

            Doppler grinned. "Let's be off! To the spaceport!" He started for the door in a bold march.

            "Wouldn't it be better if we waited for morning, Delbert?" Mrs. Hawkins spoke up.

            The dog stopped short in his tracks, then turned around, chuckling nervously and rubbing the back of his head. "I guess so. My apologies - I wasn't exactly thinking."

            Liz let out a yawn. "Yeah...happens to me, too." She looked around the extravagant room. "So, where are we going to sleep?"

            "Ah!" Doppler clapped his hands together. "That can be easily arranged. Just follow me - there are plenty of guest bedrooms upstairs." He started out of the room, the rest of the group following.

**Time Break**

            Liz kicked off her shoes as she sat on the bed, looking around the guest bedroom Dr. Doppler had provided for her. Unlike the rest of the house, the room was surprisingly simple, for which Liz was actually grateful. Except for the unexpected clutter of a couple books, the room was pretty much unused.

            Liz wondered if Dr. Doppler ever got lonely in his house, away from everyone else. This thought, somehow, then led to thoughts of Maria - who Liz had no idea as to where she was or what she was doing.

            "Well, sis," Liz spoke aloud, "wherever you are, I hope you're not in danger or anything. And that Riku's found you."

            That said, she took her glasses off and placed them on a nearby nightstand, then slipped under the covers and into a fitful sleep.


	7. Visions?

            Maria looked over at one wall of the tunnel, catching sight of strange carvings in the flickering light. She leaned forward, gripping the edge of the back of the truck with her left hand so that she could get a better look.

            "Hey, no time for distractions," Lea warned, pulling Maria back by her jacket.

            "That looked like it might have been something important," Maria complained, pointing back at the symbols as they appeared in the headlights of the truck behind them. Absently, she pushed her glasses up her nose with her other hand and wished that she could have something to clean off the dust that had gotten on it over the course of the trip.

            Lea snorted. "It could've said 'abandon all hope' or something like that for all you know." He held up a hand, and a fireball appeared, hovering above his palm. "Now, try this again, all right? You need a basic attack when we run into those Dream Eaters again."

            Maria nodded, looking at the spurt of flame she was holding in her right hand. Her look turned into a glare as she envisioned the flame turning into a sphere of flickering flames.

            At first, nothing happened. But then the small flame suddenly exploded into smaller spheres of light, which scattered in all directions, hitting into the back of the cab and the walls on either side.

            Maria let out an annoyed groan. "I'm never going to get a Fire Sphere at this rate."

            "You'll get it. It's just that you don't have the pressure of learning while going after Heartless." Lea smirked. "Besides, if that doesn't work, that can always work as an attack if you can't use anything else."

            "Yeah, but wouldn't it hurt the people I've sided with as well as the Dream Eaters?"

            Lea frowned slightly, then shook his head. "Na. That's not going to happen."

            "How do you even know? It's not like there's some sort of spell that keeps it from happening, is there?" Maria frowned, then when she saw the look on Lea's face, she blinked in surprise. "There is a spell."

            "Yeah," the redhead replied with a nod. "It's automatic, though."

            "So I don't have to cast it?"

            "Nah. The only casting you're going to be doing is the fire stuff. Now let's try this again."

            Maria let out a sigh and started to form another spurt of flame when the caravan came to a stop. Quickly snuffing out her flame, Maria looked around in order to try and see why the trucks had stopped.

            Up ahead, the path split in two as the tunnel expanded into a cavern, with tunnels leading out in upward directions. Maria caught sight of Milo climbing out of the little white car that Milo's drill had been towing - he had been officially told that he could not drive in front of he caravan early on.

            As the spindly scholar made his way towards the crossroads ahead and paged through his book, Maria felt her head start throbbing. Closing her eyes, she caught sight of something slipping through her mind: _a strange, green, bug-like monster coming out of a tunnel and snarling at Mole's drill, causing it to screech to a stop._

            Crawling over the crates in the back of the truck, Maria reached the cab and rapped on the back window.

            Audrey threw the window open and glared back at Maria. "What do you want?"

            "When Mole's drill starts to go forward, if he takes the tunnel on the left, don't follow him," Maria stated. This brought a look of confusion and surprise from Lea.

            Audrey frowned. "And why not?"

            "If Milo points in that direction, you'll see." Maria leaned back and sat down on a crate, moving her attention to the fork in the tunnel up ahead.

            Audrey gave Maria a weird look, then turned back to face the truck in front of her, muttering something in Spanish under her breath.

            Lea grabbed Maria's arm from behind her. "I thought you said you didn't know what was going to happen in the future."

            Maria looked back at him. "I've started to get these visions, okay? Right before-"

            The girl was cut off with a loud noise that caused the pair to look over at the split ahead of them.

            Mole's drill and the other trucks that had gone ahead had been forced to stop short when a giant, bug-like monster had come out and complained loudly about an intruder approaching its territory.

            Milo jumped upon seeing the bug-monster, then looked at his book for a moment before cautiously flipping the book and pointing nervously in the other direction.

            In the truck cab, Audrey let out a loud exclamation and turned around sharply in order to glare at Maria. When the girl gave a helpless shrug, the mechanic growled and turned around again, once again muttering in Spanish.

            "You were saying?" Lea asked, looking over at Maria with a curious expression.

            Maria let out a sigh. "Right before the event happens, I've gotten a glimpse. I saw the Leviathan right before it took out the sub, for instance."

            Lea frowned. "I haven't heard about anything like that happening before."

            Maria shrugged again. "I won't be able to help you figure out how. I'm just as clueless about this ability as you are. I never even knew that I could do this kind of thing until I got here!"

            "Yeah, I gathered that. But the question is, how much can you do?" Lea poked Maria in the chest. "You can't just throw fire and see the future. There's got to be something else that's going on with you."

            "Well, yeah, but what? It's not like I can go through some sort of test right in the middle of this expedition." Maria gave Lea a slightly suspicious look. "Unless there is a test."

            "Not that I'm aware of. I'm still new to this whole Keyblade wielding thing."

            Up ahead, Mole's drill had finally - and successfully - backed up from the insect's tunnel. The drill turned and started forward again, with Milo scrambling into his little white car before it could get too far. Gradually, the rest of the caravan started to follow.

            "So, I've kind of been meaning to ask," Lea spoke up as Audrey started the truck's movement. "What's your world like?"

            Maria blinked. "My world?" She became a little embarrassed. "Well, there's not really much to tell."

            "Tell it anyway," Lea replied. He shifted a little, trying to make himself a little more comfortable among the crates.

            "Well, it's a lot like this world, if you were able to see anything that was up there." Maria pointed up at the tunnel's ceiling, hinting at what was far above them. "One difference, though, is that the year's 2012, not sometime in the 1940s. The technology we have at our fingertips is a whole lot better than what they've got now, and we can do things this world can't." Maria let out a sigh, her head and shoulders sagging. "But we've got our problems, too - wars in other countries and economic difficulties being the biggest ones. It's gotten to be pretty bad for a lot of people."

            "Can you do anything about it?"

            Maria looked over at Lea and shook her head. "Not unless I turn eighteen two years earlier than I'm supposed to. And that's definitely not going to happen unless I get stuck in a time warp or something." A sad smile crept across the girl's face before she moved her gaze to the back of the truck's cab. Maria tucked her knees up to her chin.

            Lea gave Maria a curious look. "Sounds like your not exactly too fond of your world."

            "Oh, don't get me wrong - it's a nice world, to be sure, but it just has problems in it like everybody else's." Maria looked back at Lea with a slight smirk. "Thing is, though, that a lot of people really like to escape reality in our world, so they make things that let us pretend we're on another world. I guess they didn't realize that the worlds they thought they had made up were actually real ones." She let out a slight chuckle, but then a frown appeared on her face. "See, that's one thing I don't understand about this whole thing: how in the world - no, universe - did the worlds that I'm aware of turn out to be real? Cartoons and stuff was never thought to actually exist anywhere outside the TV and a person's imagination."

            Lea scratched his head, making his already messy hair even more so. "Well, Yen Sid knew about other worlds. It could have something to do with that. Maybe on a much larger scale, though..."

            Maria shrugged. "I'll figure it out eventually."

**Time Break**

            Maria sat quietly at the campfire with the other members of the group as a short, old man with what sounded like a Southern accent went around from group of people to group of people, handing out glops of some sort of chunky stew.

            Maria didn't like the smell of it. There were some things that she could handle, but Cookie's cooking was probably beyond that limit.

            "So, kid," Vinny stated, looking over at Maria from across the campfire. "I heard that you've got a few tricks up your sleeve like tall, dark, and snarky over there." He motioned with his fork over in the direction of Lea, who was sitting with another group of the crew, laughing and joking with them.

            Maria became a little hesitant at the mentioning of some sort of connection between her and Lea. "Uh...maybe? Why?"

            "You don't seem ta be as eager as he is to show off." Vinny motioned to Lea again, who was making lazy circles while a stream of fire - which looked a lot like a dragon - flew above the camp fire he was sitting at before it dissipated with a flash and the sound of what might have been wood cracking.

            "I'm still pretty new to what I can do," Maria admitted, looking embarrassed and nervous.

            "Kid, this whole thing is new to all of us," Audrey spoke up from where she sat next to Vinny. "Sure, we've been to Iceland to look for some book, but Atlantis?" She shook her head. "That old man's crazier than I thought."

            "Oh, I wouldn't know about that," Maria responded with a slightly mysterious smile as she thought back to Milo's first encounter with Mr. Whitmore. "I think he's actually pretty cool."

            "How would you know?" Audrey asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

            Maria froze, her eyes widening upon realizing what she had just let slip. "Uh...I heard a lot about him from Lea?"

            Vinny and Audrey gave each other varying degrees of suspicious looks.

            "There's something about you and Lea that doesn't fit with everything else," Audrey remarked.

            "There's more than meets the eye to the both of you," Vinny added, waving his fork around.

            For some reason, those words sent chills up and down Maria's spine, but the feeling was gone in an instant.

            "I'm getting the feeling that a lot of people would say that about anybody," Maria stated carefully. "Even if they can't do what Lea and I can."

            Audrey snorted. "Yeah, right."

            Maria shrugged. "Big things come in small packages. Sometimes, people will surprise you." With that, she got to her feet, leaving the untouched tray of Cookie's goop behind as she started to make her way towards the row of tents.

            "Hey!"

            Maria turned as Lea ran over, and she gave him a curious look.

            "I saw that you didn't like that stuff," Lea said, jabbing his thumb back in the direction of the campfire Maria had been sitting at. A certain small, round figure had found Maria's tray and was starting to attack it vigorously.

            Maria gave a dry smile. "I didn't even dare to try it. That stuff doesn't exactly look appetizing."

            "Yeah, I kinda figured." Lea produced a small bottle from out of nowhere and gave it to Maria. "Here. This might taste a little better than that other stuff."

            Maria frowned, then took the bottle and looked its glowing blue contents over with a curious expression. "What is it?"

            "Something that Sora managed to mix up some time ago," Lea explained. "He said something about not being able to eat all the time and that this stuff works pretty well as a replacement or something. Lasts about a week."

            Maria's eyebrows arched in surprise as she looked down at the little bottle. The glowing blue liquid inside did send shivers down her spine, but they weren't enough to cause her to doubt Lea's words.

            "Well, may as well give it a try," Maria noted. She removed the cork from the top of the bottle and promptly swallowed its contents.

            The contents of the bottle felt cold and hot at the exact same time as the liquid slid down her throat with the viscosity of some sort of fruit juice. Maria's eyes widened when she realized the stuff tasted a lot like blue Gatorade for some reason.

            When Maria had finished swallowing the potion, she looked down at the empty bottle for a moment before handing it back to Lea, saying, "Wow. Didn't expect it to taste like something from my world."

            Lea looked down at the bottle in his hand in surprise. "Really?" He looked back at Maria with a curious expression. "What did it taste like?"

            "An energy drink that tasted a lot like some sort of berry."

            With a shrug, Maria turned around and started for the tents, leaving Lea standing alonew blinking in confusion.

**Space Break**

            A figure stumbled out of a portal, which closed shut behind him as he looked around at his new surroundings. Once the figure had finished looking around the area, he started forward with determined steps, still looking around with a critical eye.

            "All right, Maria," the figure muttered. "Where are you?"


	8. Legacy Cyborgs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I chose some of the weirdest chapter titles when I was 15...

            Liz looked around with something akin to amazement at the bustling crowds as she, Sora, and Kairi, followed Jim a through the spaceport that was located near Dr. Doppler's fine home. The two Keyblade wielders - as well as Lisa herself - were amazed by all the activity that was going on as aliens of all shapes and sizes yelled out orders to large numbers of more aliens as they ran from one ends of docks to ends of docks, attempting to get ships that were floating above them in perfect condition.

            Sora, in particular, seemed to be enjoying himself just by looking at the ships themselves.

            "Kids! Wait for me!"

            Liz turned upon hearing the familiar voice of a certain humanoid dog, and she nearly burst out laughing upon seeing what he was wearing.

            "Liz, there's no need to laugh," Doppler stated in a rebuking manner, wagging a gloved finger in her direction. The rest of the bronze-colored armor he was now wearing clanged all the way up his arm in response to this motion, but Doppler didn't respond to it.

            Sora looked at Doppler in surprise. "Where did you pick up the suit of armor, Dr. Doppler?"

            "Suit of armor?" Doppler looked down at himself, scanning the rather bulbous metal shell he was now wearing. Looking back at Sora, he replied in a huff, "It is not a suit of armor. It is, in fact, a space suit."

            Jim snorted. "Yeah, sure. Like you needed that." He turned and started into the crowd again, returning his attention to the docks and the different types of ships that were located there.

            "Jim! Wait!" Doppler ran after a boy, followed closely by Liz and the two Keyblade wielders. "You can't just walk off like that. Stay close, why don't you? We could get to know each other a little better?"

            Jim looked back at them, but didn't say a word as he let them catch up, indifferent to Doppler's attempt at conversation. Liz watched the dog with a small smirk on her face as he continued to stumble over his words.

            "You know what they saw," the dog continued, "familiarity breeds -" he paused. "Well, contempt, but in our case -"

            "Look, let's just find the ship, okay?" Jim finally asked, annoyed.

            "Yeah!" Sora exclaimed, nodding vigorously in agreement.

            "Oh!" Doppler stopped his word-stumbling, then started to look around at the shops that were docked. "Um..." A gloved hand made its way up to his chin as Doppler frowned in thought. "Oh dear. It seems I've forgotten where I was told that the ship was docked." He started to look around, then caught sight of a pair of aliens with skin the color of rocks working with a ladder on the roof of some sort of shack.

            "Oh! Excuse me!" Doppler ran over, his suit clanging loudly as he made his way over to the pair of aliens, any other words drowned out by the sound of metal hitting metal. Liz, Sora, Kairi, and Jim ended up running after him so that they could attempt to hear what he was saying and where they would end up going.

            "Second berth on your right," the alien on a ladder stated as Liz and the others got within earshot.

            "You can't miss it," the one holding the ladder added.

            "Uh...thanks?" Sora said, blinking in confusion.

            Jim simply rolled his eyes and started off in the direction the aliens had pointed out. Sora, Liz and Kairi made it a point to dash after him in order to keep from losing him.

            Doppler sighed somewhere behind the children as he followed after them. "It's the suit, isn't it? I should have never listened to that pushy two-headed saleswoman. This one said it fit, that one said it was my color. I didn't know what to do, I get so flustered."

            The dog suddenly let out a gasp as the group neared one of the docks. "Oh! Jim, this is our ship!" Doppler quickly stumbled forward past the group, then pointed at a white ship ahead of them, golden sails still rolled up tightly as the ship sat in the air. "The R.L.S. Legacy." Doppler sounded proud with himself.

            "Whoa," Jim said as he looked at the ship, a slight smile coming over his face. Sora had an identical look.

            Liz had to agree with the both of them. Seeing a ship up close like this was a marvel in and of itself. She joined the others in running over to the gangplank, leaving Dr. Doppler to stumble after them in his loud suit of armor.

            As the kids walked up the gangplank and onto the ship, someone shouted, "Stow those casks forward! Heave together now!" The crew appeared to be extremely busy with all sorts of activity that might prepare the ship for casting off.

            Sora looked around in amazement at all the action. "This is so cool!" he exclaimed, over excited.

            Unfortunately, the Keyblade wielder wasn't watching where he was going, and he ran into a large, squishy object. Backing up, he realized he had run into a large slug creature with what looked like tubes sticking out of his back.

            Sora quickly held up his hands in a defensive stance. "Sorry, I didn't mean to -"

            He was interrupted by the slug, which released several noises which have been deemed "farts" by Liz's world. The mentioned girl did her best to restrain her giggles.

            "Allow me to handle this," Doppler said, stepping in front of Sora and giving the boy a slight smile. Then, after turning to face the slug, Doppler unleashed his own version of the noises the slug had produced, pushing his cheeks to get better leverage we he produced raspberries and other impolite noises.

            The slug looked surprised, but then it made a noise that sounded like a laugh and replied using the noises once again.

            "I'm fluent in Flatula, Sora," Doppler explained. "Took two years of it in high school." He saluted the slug, unleashing a raspberry as he walked passed.

            "Flatula, huh?" Jim muttered. "Cool."

            The group continued across the deck, Doppler somewhat leading the way as he looked around for a moment, then started straight for a man carved out of rock, who was wearing a three-pointed hat and wearing some sort of officer-ish uniform colored in red and gold.

            "Good morning, Captain," Doppler greeted as he walked up to the man. "Everything shipshape?"

            "Shipshape it is, sir," the man replied with calm authority, "but I'm not the captain." He pointed upward, tilting his head back to look up himself. "The captain's aloft."

            There was a loud _meow!_ , and a slim cat in a blue uniform slid down a rope and landed beside the rock-man with grace.

            "Mr. Arrow, I've checked this miserable ship from stem to stern," the cat said coldly, "and as usual it's...spot on." A slight smile appeared on her face, and she asked teasingly, "Can you get nothing wrong?"

            "You flatter me, Captain," Mr. Arrow said, sounding embarrassed.

            The front part of Doppler's helmet fell forward with a clang as the captain turned to look at him.

            "Dr. Doppler, I presume?" the cat inquired.

            The helmet nodded with a loud, rattling noise.

            "Hello, can you hear me in there?" the cat asked, knocking on Doppler's helmet.

            "Yes, I can hear you!" Doppler snapped, pulling up the front of the helmet. "Now stop banging!" However, the cat had moved.

            "If I may, Doctor," the captain said as she fussed with something, "It works so much better when it's right way up and plugged in." She ran around the back and pushed something, causing Doppler to let out a yelp in surprise.

            "Lovely," the cat said cooly as she came back around to stand in front of Dr. Doppler. "There you go."

            Doppler glared at the captain. "If you don't mind, I can manage my own plugging!" he growled, unplugging a black plug from behind him and shaking it at her threateningly.

            "I'm Captain Amelia," the cat introduced, ignoring Dr. Doppler. "Late of a few run-ins with the Protean Armada. Nasty business, but I won't bore you with my scars." She motioned to Mr. Arrow. "You've already met my first officer, Mr. Arrow. Sterling, tough, dependable, honest, brave, and true."

            Mr. Arrow looked embarrassed again. "Please, Captain."

            "Oh, shut up, Arrow," Amelia replied with a teasing smirk. "You know I don't mean a word of it."

            Doppler coughed into a metal glove, getting the two to look back at him. "I hate to interrupt this lovely banter, but may I introduce you to Jim Hawkins?"

            Jim shook Amelia's hand, then Arrow's hand as Doppler continued, "Jim is the boy who found the treasure-"

            Liz quickly slapped her hand over Doppler's mouth to prevent him from saying anything more as some of the crew stopped and looked in their direction. Arrow glared at them, and they reluctantly went back to work.

            Amelia glared at Doppler. "I'd like a word with all of you in my stateroom," she growled darkly. Amelia then turned around sharply and walked off, followed closely by Arrow.

            Sora shrugged, then followed after them. Kairi ran after him, followed by Jim. Liz, after taking her hand off Doppler's mouth, ran after them. Doppler followed her, clanging loudly all the way across the deck and up the stairs into the captains quarters.

            After they got into the stateroom and Amelia closed the door behind them, she said, "Doctor, to muse and babble about a treasure map in front of this particular crew, demonstrates a level of ineptitude that borders on the imbecilic - and I mean that in a caring way." She sounded serious, angered, and still teasing and cheerful at the same time.

            "Imbecilic, you say?" Doppler repeated, looking incredulous. This was soon replaced by a look that made Doppler look like he was about to boil over in anger. "Foolishness, I've -"

            "May I see the map, please?" Amelia interrupted patiently, holding out a gloved hand.

            Jim eyed her reluctantly, then took out the brass sphere from a jacket pocket and held it out. "Here."

            Amelia took it, looking at the object like a cat on Earth would look at a toy. "Fascinating." She walked over to a cabinet and placed the object inside. "Children, in the future, you address me as 'Captain' or 'Ma'am.' Is that clear?"

            "Yes, ma'am!"/"Aye, Captain!" Liz and Sora exclaimed at once.

            "Yes, ma'am," Kairi murmured quietly.

            Jim didn't say anything, and Amelia was quick to notice.

            "I said, 'is that clear'?" Amelia repeated in a more serious tone.

            "...Yes, ma'am," Jim muttered under his breath.

            Amelia paused, considering Jim's response. "That'll do." She closed the cabinet and locked it with a key that she produced, then slid into a glove. "Gentlemen - and ladies - this must be kept under lock and key when it is not in use." She walked over to Doppler and gave him a slightly annoyed look. "And, Doctor, with the greatest respect, zip your howling screamer." She somehow managed to get up in his face when she said the last phrase of her sentence.

            Doppler looked a little nervous while Liz tried to stifle a laugh. "Captain, I assure you, I -"

            "Let me make this as monosyllabic as possible," Amelia continued calmly. "I don't care much for this crew you hired. They're..." She looked over at Arrow. "How did I describe them, Arrow? I said something rather good this morning before coffee."

            " 'A ludicrous parcel of driveling galoots,' ma'am," came the instant, curt reply, causing Liz to smirk out of amusement, a snort of laughter escaping. She managed to cut any real laughter short; however, she still had a giggle fit.

            "There you go," Amelia said calmly with a wave of her hand. "Poetry."

            Doppler was becoming very annoyed with the captain's actions. "Now, see here -"

            "Doctor, I'd love to chat - tea, cakes, the whole shebang - but I have a ship to launch, and..." Amelia looked over the armor Doppler was wearing. "...you've got your outfit to buff up." Amelia made her way to the door. "Mr. Arrow, please escort the five neophytes down to the galley straightaway. Young Hawkins and the others will be working for our cook, Mr. Silver."

            "What? The cook?" Jim demanded, indignant and angered.

            As they left the stateroom, both Jim and Doppler were fuming.

            "That woman! That...that feline!" Doppler exclaimed in anger. "Who does she think is working for whom?"

            "It's my map, and she's got me busting tables?" Jim moaned.

            "I will not have a cross word spoken about our captain!" Mr. Arrow barked back at the two, an annoyed look on his face.

            "Besides, this is your first time on a ship like this, isn't it?" Sora asked. "You're going to have to start small."

            "And that includes you," Liz added, pointing at the Keyblade wielder as she spoke in a hushed voice. "It doesn't matter that you've been on a boat in water. This is probably going to be completely different."

            Arrow nodded his approval, having not heard Liz's statement, then led the group down into the galley.

            Inside, a man had his back turned to them as he worked with a stove. Hearing the whistle Mr. Arrow let out as they approached, the man turned with a look of surprise on his face.

            "Why, Mr. Arrow, sir!" the man exclaimed. He took note of the group behind the first officer, then continued speaking. "Bringin' in such fine and distinguished guests to grace my humble galley. Had I known, I would've tucked in me shirt!" He chuckled, wiping his hands off in his apron.

            "A cyborg!" Liz whispered, taking note of the man's arm, mechanical eye, and leg with wide eyes. Jim and the others exchanged glances, having also seen the attachments.

            "My I introduce Dr. Doppler, the financier of our voyage," Arrow said as he motioned to Doppler. "Doctor, this is Mr. Silver."

            "Love the outfit, Doc," Silver remarked as he shook the dog's hand, a smirk playing on his lips.

            "Thank you," Doppler replied, quickly thinking for a reply. "Love the eye," he added, taking note of the robotic eye Silver had. He motioned to Jim, hoping to get some attention off him. "This young lad is Jim Hawkins."

            "Jimbo!" Silver greeted, putting out his robotic hand. Oddly enough, it had a couple knives at the end. This caused Jim to back up a step.

            Noticing this, Silver exchanged the knives for a makeshift hand, but Jim still didn't take the gesture.

            "Oh, don't be too put off by this hunk of hardware." Silver turned back to the stove and started cooking quickly, breaking three eggs at once, chopping vegetables, and stirring it all together in a large kettle with a blender attachment. "These gears have been tough getting used to," he explained as he worked, "but they do come in mighty handy from time to time." He poured out some of his concoction into five bowls, then handed them to his guests, saying, "Here, now, have a taste of me famous bonzabeast stew."

            Liz took in a whiff of the aroma coming off the stew as Doppler lapped up some of it.

            "Mm," Doppler said. "Delightfully tangy, yet robust."

            Sora took a sip of the stew and nodded in agreement, encouraging Kairi to take a sip, as well.

            "It's an old family recipe," Silver explained.

            Doppler was about to sip up more of his stew just as an eyeball surfaced in the liquid. He let out a yelp of surprise, jerking his head back in alarm.

            "Let me guess," Liz said dryly, "part of the old family?"

            Silver grinned hugely, and he let out a chuckle. "Ah, I'm just kiddin', Doc. I'm nothing if I ain't a kidder." He looked at Jim. "Go on, Jimbo. Have a swig."

            Jim was about to take a sip himself when the stew was suddenly sucked down into a giant red and white straw. When the stew was gone, the straw shifted form into a little pink blob, which settled at the bottom of the bowl. The little thing chuckled delightfully.

            "Morph!" Silver exclaimed. "You jiggle-headed blob of mischief! So that's where you was hiding."

            The little creature chittered and flew over to Silver's right shoulder, letting out another chattering noise when it had reached that point.

            "What is that thing?" Sora asked, looking at the pink blob with confusion and awe.

            The blob transformed into a small version of Sora, which then mimicked, "What is that thing?"

            "He's a morph," Silver explained as Morph transformed back into a pink blob. "Rescued the little shape-shifter on Proteus."

            Morph let out an odd cooing noise as he nuzzled against Silver's cheek.

            "He took a shine to me," Silver continued. "We've been together ever since." He looked at Morph. "Right?"

            Morph nodded quickly.

            "We're about to get underway," Arrow spoke up. "Would you like to observe the launch, Doctor?"

            Doppler became excited. "Would I? Does an active galactic nucleus have superluminal jets?" When Arrow didn't answer, Doppler said quietly, "I'll follow you."

            "Mr. Hawkins, Sora, Kairi, and Liz will stay here in your charge, Mr. Silver," Arrow continued, when the named group tried to follow him out.

            Silver looked nervous. "Begging your pardon, sir, but -"

            "Captain's orders! See to it that you keep your new cabin boys busy." With that, Arrow and Doppler left the galley, while Silver, Jim, and Sora protested about not being able to see the launch - or just being stuck in the galley.

            "So, the Captain's put you all with me, eh?" Silver asked once he and the two boys had gotten over what Arrow had ordered.

            Liz nodded, a helpless half-smile working its way onto her face. "Yup."

            Silver shrugged and gave a slight chuckle. "Well, who be a humble cyborg to argue with the captain?"

            Jim wandered over to a pair of barrels and pulled a strange, purple fruit out of one of them. "You know...these purps...they're kind of like the ones back home on Montressor." He looked at Silver. "Ever been there?"

            "Eh... Can't say as I have, Jimbo," the cyborg replied with a shrug.

            Jim tossed the fruit a little, doing a one-handed juggle. "Come to think of it, just before I left, I met this old guy who was kind of looking for a cyborg buddy of his."

            Silver frowned. "Is that so?"

            Jim nodded.

            "What was that old salamander's name?"

            Liz stiffened. They hadn't informed Silver of the creature's species...shoot, even she hadn't really known what to call him!

            Jim, who hadn't really taken note of one of the words in the cook's question, stated, "Bones. Billy Bones."

            Silver frowned and though it over, muttering the name a couple times. "Can't say I have," he remarked finally. "Must've been a different cyborg. There's a slew of cyborgs roamin' this port." He made a motion that was probably meant to encompass the entire port outside.

            On deck above, there was a loud whistle, followed by Arrow shouting, "Prepare to cast off!"

            Silver smiled. "Off with you kids, and go watch the launch. There'll be plenty of work a-waitin' fer afterwards."

            "You mean it?" Sora asked, his eyes wide with eagerness.

            " 'Course I mean it, boy! Now get going!"

            The four kids in front of Silver grinned at each other, then ran out of the galley.

            When Jim and the others gotten clear of the galley's entrance, Arrow reported to Amelia in a clear voice, "All clear, Captain!"

            Amelia gave a determined smile to the rock-man, then a swift nod . "Well, my friend. Are we ready to raise this sinking tub?"

            "My pleasure, Captain," Arrow replied. He then called out loudly to the crew, "All hands to stations!"

            The deck instantly exploded in a flurry of activity, members of the crew dashing for different areas of the ship.

            Liz craned her neck back as she watched some of the crew scramble up the masts. She probably wasn't going to be able to do that before the end of his voyage.

            "Loose all solar sails!" Arrow called.

            The crew responded instantly, pulling ropes and tying down the sails as the unfurled. The strange, orange-yellow material sparkled in the sunlight.

            "Heave up the braces!"

            The ship suddenly started to rise up beneath Liz's feet, and she got the feeling that they were leaving the spaceport. Especially considering that her own feet started to leave the deck, leaving Liz to mill around in the air as she tried to get some sort of sense of balance. She considered herself lucky that her feet still stayed underneath her.

            "Mr. Zoff, engage artificial gravity," Amelia calmly told the slug Sora had run into earlier. She was standing in the air as though she had never left the ground: feet together, hands behind her back.

            Zoff saluted, then pulled down a lever on a console near him, causing the crew to come back down and at least have their feet planted on some part of the ship.

            Doppler, who wasn't used to this sort of thing, slammed down on his back beside Amelia, causing some of his suit's parts to go flying in all directions. Liz and Kairi almost landed the same way, but Sora, who was close to the both of them, somehow managed to help them stay upright.

            "South by southwest, Mr. Turnbuckle," Amelia ordered a green slug-like creature at the helm. "Heading 4600."

            "Aye, Captain," Turnbuckle replied as he started to turn the helm with his four tentacles. "4600."

            "Full speed, Mr. Arrow, if you please," Amelia told Arrow.

            "Take her away!" Arrow shouted.

            Liz could have sworn that the boards beneath her feet started to vibrate when she heard the sound of something revving up below her. The ship's bow had already turned to face the sky.

            "Brace yourself, Doctor," Amelia called to Doppler over the engines.

            "Brace yourself," Doppler mimicked haughtily.

            The engines suddenly burst to life, and the ship rocketed upwards. Liz let out a yelp of surprise as she stumbled back into a railing nearby; she made it a point to grab it in order to keep her footing. Doppler, however, wasn't so lucky: He had been blown back into a wall as the ship took off.

            Liz, when she saw the doctor's predicament, couldn't help but laugh as the ship took off into the stars.


	9. More Tunnel Travel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like the fact that my past self was smart enough to make Maria work to control these powers, and not just let her know how to use them.

            Maria woke up with a jolt when the truck suddenly came to a halt, knocking the back of her head against the truck cab, which she had been leaning against. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she started to have a look around. Lea, seeing something that Maria hadn't, jumped out of the truck bed and started for the front of the caravan.

            "Lea, what's going on?" Maria turned around in her seat and started to look up the line of trucks. "Is there something blocking the path up ahead?"

            "Looks like it," Lea replied, glancing back. "There's a ravine we've got to cross."

            Audrey let out a groan from the truck cab. "It better not be another one with spikes at the bottom." She peered out the open window and tried to see around the trucks. "What's going on over there? Is another weird-looking pulley system?"

            Maria clambered to her feet, wary of the shifting crates underneath her feet. "I can't see anything past Mole's drill," she remarked with a frown.

            "I walked up and had a look," Lea replied. "There's some sort of pillar in front of the path. I think Vinny's planning on knocking it over."

            Maria blinked as another scene flickered past her eyes for a moment. "Milo's up there, too. Probably marveling at the make of the pillar before Vinny blows out the base."

            Lea looked at Maria with a skeptical expression, raising an eyebrow. Audrey started to look back at her, but a loud explosion was suddenly heard from the front of the caravan. The noise echoed through the tunnel for a short time, then faded underneath the noise of Mole's drill powering up and rolling forward.

            As Maria and Lea sat down in the back of the truck again, Lea stated abruptly, "You had another one of those visions, didn't you?"

            Maria blushed, embarrassed. "Yeah." A more thoughtful expression crossed over her face. "It was actually one of the few scenes the movie showed of the caravan going from the cave to our actual destination..." She frowned. "I think. The memories haven't completely come back yet."

            "You really need to get some control over those."

            "How?" Maria looked at Lea with a helpless expression and gave an equally helpless shrug. "Visions are known to be impossible to know anything about until right before the event happens. At least, that's how it is at home."

            Lea raised an eyebrow. "Do your people have visions?"

            Maria let out a frustrated groan. "No! It's just..." She gained a frustrated expression. "In some other worlds that we've come into contact with, people have visions that are completely unpredictable. The people who see the future usually say some sort of complicated riddle that makes sense after the event has happened. Others see snippets of things that hardly make any sense because they go by too quickly." The frustrated expression faded. "I think it's because the future is unpredictable in and of itself."

            Lea looked a little deflated at the thought. "Well, isn't that just great."

            Maria allowed herself a small smile. "That's my thought, too." She let out another sigh as he form slid into a more relaxed position. Maria wasn't able to stay there for long, however.

            "Dream Eaters!"

            Lea and Maria looked at each other, then leapt to their feet and turned to face the front of the caravan.

            Maria's eyes narrowed as she felt fire crawl up her arms and stop at her elbows. "It's those rock monsters again."

            "I can see that," Lea replied, irritated. He summoned his Keyblade - Maria's eyes went over the flame-like design of the sword. "Are you up to going after these guys?"

            "Yeah," Maria replied, moving her gaze back to the rock-like monsters that were starting to jump around from one truck to another. "I think so." She gained a nervous smile. "I mean, it's just a bunch of rocks."

            Lea gave a slight nod, then jumped onto the roof of the truck cab - no, hopped, Maria realized. Because Lea then jumped onto the back of the cab in front of them without so much as a slip on the metal.

            "I think I'm going to have to work on doing that," Maria remarked, blinking in surprise. She quickly shook this off, however and jumped out of the bed of the truck and landed on the cave floor. Then she started jogging through the tunnel and towards the mass of Dream Eaters that Lea was already starting to hack into.

            Maria clenched her fists and started to move from foot to foot as she came to a stop in front of a group of three Dream Eaters, consciously mimicking the stances of some boxers from her world. One of the rock creatures threw forward its arm, but Maria managed to move out of the way before the stretched arm landed solidly where she had been standing a moment before.

            "Ok...note to self: avoid stretchy arms," Maria muttered to herself. She held her hands in front of her and tried to form a Fire Sphere between them, but all she got was a sputter of flame off both arms that promptly exploded. Small pieces hit the Dream Eaters, but they didn't look like they had been damaged in any way.

            Maria decided to resort to a different way of trying to damage them, and lunged out with her fists first.

            The Dream Eater she was gunning for was actually slower than Maria had expected they were; her fists actually managed to score a hit, but Maria soon retreated a little because this resulted in sore knuckles.

            "Owowowowow!" Maria jumped back, waving around her hands and letting out a pained hiss. "Note to self: no fists!"

            The Dream Eaters looked at each other and let out a chittering noise before looking back at Maria and starting forward again. The girl, taking a step back, wanted to bring out the fire staff that had appeared in her hands the last time the little rock monsters had attacked.

            Her hands started to heat up even further, making Maria wonder if her body was starting to boil. But her concern turned to relief when a blast of fire from both her hands caused a staff-like projection to appear in her hands.

            Grinning, Maria started to swing the staff around, then slammed it into one of the Dream Eaters that had been approaching her. To her delight, the rock monster fell apart and collapsed into dust. Maria then went after the other two Dream Eaters in turn, each one also falling to dust.

            Maria grinned triumphantly upon seeing her opponents fall. "Yes!"

            "Not bad, for taking out only three Dream Eaters," Lea remarked, jumping over a truck and landing in front of Maria. "Looks like you won't be needing that Fire Sphere after all."

            Maria looked over at the redhead, then back down at her hands in surprise when the fiery staff dissipated into embers, then disappeared completely. With a sigh, she remarked, "I'm probably going to have to learn how to control this one, though."

            Lea gave a smirk and a nod in agreement. "Definitely. There's a lot that we're going to have to go through in order to get you up to my level."

            "Yeah, I kinda figured." Maria let out a chuckle, then turned and started back for the truck. Lea followed behind her as his Keyblade vanished in a flash of light. "Looks like I've got something to add to things I have to learn."

            The two reached the back of Audrey's truck and climbed back into the bed again as the caravan started to move forward again. Maria was somewhat disappointed to note that no one said anything in thanks to them concerning taking out the Dream Eaters.

            The thought entered her mind that the rest of the caravan was considering what to do about them if she and Lea ever tried to go against everybody else.

            "You know, you're way too calm for someone who just took down three Dream Eaters by herself," Lea remarked suddenly.

            Maria blinked, coming out of her thoughts and looking over at Lea. "What do you mean?"

            "For someone from another world, I'd have thought that you would have...I dunno, fainted or something after taking them out." Lea made a careless waving motion. "Are you sure that you haven't had any experience with this?"

            "...pretty certain," Maria replied cautiously. "I mean, sure there have been a couple games I've played that put someone in a situation like that, but I haven't physically been up against anything or anyone. I'm not built like that."

            "But you did just take down three Dream Eaters like it was nothing."

            Maria gained a deadpan expression. "I wasn't kicking them or anything. I was just using that staff that -"

            "But it ate up some of your energy. And you don't look tired. At all." Lea frowned. "You must have gotten tired."

            Maria looked down at her hands, then shrugged. "I don't know what's going on with me. There's a lot of stuff that I never thought would happen to me - your company included." She looked back at Lea. "Just last night Vinny said something that sent chills down my spine for some reason, too."

            "Really?" Lea looked interested. "What was it?"

            Maria frowned, but then a frustrated look appeared on her face. "Foo. I forgot it. And it was so familiar, too..." She let out a sigh. "I guess I'll remember it later."

            "You probably will," Lea remarked. A smirk slipped onto his face. "Now, how about we work on those abilities of yours, huh?"

            Maria blinked, then gained a small smile and gave a nod. "Yeah. Sure."

**Time Break**

            When the caravan stopped to refuel the trucks and get legs stretched a few hours later, Maria and Lea jumped off Audrey's truck and started for Vinny's truck, which carried canteens of water that were rationed out to make it last as long as possible. Both looked a title more tired than everybody else, but Maria looked delighted and content.

            "I'm really glad that worked out," Maria remarked as they reached the truck. She snatched one of the canteens from the back of Vinny's truck and dumped some of its contents into her mouth, being careful not to put her mouth on the opening. Once she had drunk her fill, the girl capped the canteen and tossed it back onto the truck. "Maybe now I'll be able to do more in a fight without getting in danger of being bumped off."

            "Fire Sphere will definitely help," Lea agreed. "But you still need to get full control over the attack."

            Maria gave a nod. She and Lea started back for Audrey's truck, but Milo came up to the truck and grabbed a canteen himself before starting to drink from it.

            Vinny, who had been going through his explosives and taking inventory, looked up as soon as he heard the young man drinking like he hadn't had water in weeks.

            "Did you just drink that?" the Italian asked carefully, turning to look at Milo. He was holding a small golden ball in one hand - one of the homemade explosive variety.

            Milo nodded vigorously as he wiped his mouth with a sleeve, then capped the canteen.

            "That's nitroglycerin," Vinny warned in a panicked voice, pointing at the canteen with a shaky finger.

            Milo's eyes widened, and he grabbed at his throat, dropping the canteen onto the ground.

            Maria's eyes widened, as well, and she exchanged glances with Lea, who looked somewhat confused.

            "Nitroglycerin?" Lea repeated. "What's that?"

            "It's a deadly explosive," Vinny replied, glancing over at the redhead. He looked back at Milo. "Now, don't move, don't blink, don't even breathe, just pray, or else you'll go -"

            "BOOM!" Mole suddenly exclaimed from behind Milo, Maria, and Lea. The young scholar and the girl jumped with a yelp as the small, pudgy, dirty Frenchman burst out laughing. Lea just turned and gave the short man a glare.

            Maria glared back at Mole, then looked over at Vinny as the Italian grinned under his mustache. Thinking back, the girl realized that the demolition expert got something wrong.

            "You do realize that, if you had brought the nitro with you, Milo would have exploded just by picking up the canteen, right?" Maria asked, looking over at Vinny suspiciously.

            Milo looked at Maria in surprise, but Vinny just looked somewhat annoyed at the girl's statement.

            "Sheesh, can't you take a joke?" the Italian asked. He then returned to his explosives, muttering something that sounded like it might have been his native language. Mole also looked disappointed - most likely because Maria had pointed out a flaw in their prank. The little Frenchman then turned and stomped off for his drill.

            "How'd you know what that nitro-stuff was?" Lea asked as they started back for Audrey's truck.

            "I read. A lot. And one of the books I came across had the 'nitro-stuff' involved." Maria gave a shrug. "I know a lot of miscellaneous stuff like that." She looked back at Vinny with a disgruntled expression. "He shouldn't have done that to Milo, though. It's going to bite him in the back someday."

            Lea gained an interested expression. "Is this another one of those visions?"

            "No. It's just a fact of life." Maria stopped as she reached the truck bed and, planting her feet on the wheel well, climbed up into a pile of crates. Lea soon followed. "It's called karma where I come from. What goes around comes around - good is repaid in kind, and bad is repaid in kind." She wagged a finger in Vinny's direction. "And he's really asking for it."

            Lea leaned back against the back of the truck's cab as the machine rumbled to life. "Are you suggesting we do something about it?"

            Maria blinked, suddenly looking nervous. "I don't know if we could," she remarked.

            "I say leave it," Audrey declared from the truck cab. The two fire users looked at the open window as the mechanic continued, "He probably just needed a good laugh."

            "But pranking Milo?" Maria responded. "He could have done something else, couldn't he?"

            "Eh. Maybe. But what's the use in going after the rest of us when he's already tried everything in his book?"

            Maria blinked, her blue eyes filling with curiosity. "What do you mean?" A frown crept across her face. "Are you telling me he's a prankster?"

            "He's kind of off and on about it, but he usually does it when he wants to get a laugh out of himself." Audrey shrugged. "He did it so often to the rest of us that we don't even blink at some of the stuff he does."

            Maria and Lea exchanged glances, then looked back at the truck cab.

            "Doesn't seem like him," Maria remarked. "He doesn't look or act like the pranking type."

            "And what is the pranking type?" Audrey sounded curious and annoyed.

            Maria blinked, thinking for a moment. A description popped into her mind almost instantly. "They have to look like they're up to something. They have to be...in a playful mood almost always, and they have to have an accomplice to test their pranks on or work with for pranks on other people. And they have to have some sort of supply of items that they can use in pranks that you would never expect to be used." She felt like she was describing a pair of figures that she knew, but nothing really rang a bell as to whom.

            "Sounds like pranksters, all right," Lea remarked with a knowing smirk.

            Maria nodded absently, a smile creeping across her own face. "That was the whole point, wasn't it?" She looked over at the back of Audrey's head. "So, Vinny can't be a prankster. The characteristics don't leak through." A thoughtful expression replaced the smile. "I think it's actually Mole who's the prankster."

            In the rearview mirror, Maria watched as Audrey's face morphed into a look of disgusted revelation. "Yeah, I see where you're going."

            Maria nodded, then got into a more relaxed position on here pile of crates. She could tell that it was going to be some time before they reached a good place to camp for the night, if the few clocks they had were right. She decided to take a nap, but her mind was still in some sort of turmoil over what she had described to Audrey and Lea. There was something about it that left an empty hole in her, and Maria didn't know why that would be possible.

            Eventually, the girl managed to convince herself to fall asleep, despite the gnawing feeling that strangely enveloped her heart.


	10. Fatherly Lessons and a Black Hole

            Liz glared at the puddle of water she was pushing around with her mop. Silver had asked her to swab the deck with Kairi and Sora, and she was beginning to feel a little frustrated with her job and was starting to think of it more as a punishment. The ship was large enough that even with three people it would take a couple hours to finish!

            "Where's Maria when I need her?" Liz grumbled under her breath. Her older sister had come through with gusto for chores in the past that needed to be gotten rid of, but Liz had always preferred to be a bit more methodical. At least, if Maria had been there, she could have provided a short relief by taking shifts with Liz.

            On one side of the ship, there suddenly was a loud noise. Doppler, still wearing his tin can suit, ran over to the rail in order to see what the source of the noise was.

            "Upon my word, an Orctus Galacticus," he said in awe. The dog quickly took out a camera to get a picture of the large whale-like creatures that were "swimming" alongside the ship. "Smile."

            Amelia looked over from where she stood at the railing of the upper deck. Seeing what was about to happen, she stared, "Uh, Doctor, I'd suggest you stand clear -"

_Too late,_ Liz thought with a smirk. She watched with amusement as the space-whale spewed a mucus-like liquid on Doppler and his device. The dog's camera flashed a second too late to catch the space creature.

            Silver walked up onto the upper deck and stopped behind behind Amelia. "Ah, 'tis a fine day for sailin', Captain. And look at you. You're as trim and bonny as a sloop with new sails and a fresh coat of paint."

            Amelia glanced over at him with a stern frown. "You can keep that kind of flim-flannery for your spaceport floozies, Silver." Her words were short and to the point

            "I speak nothing but me heart at all times," Silver replied, looking a little hurt at the captain's words.

            "Nothing but me heart," Morph repeated in a cheery tone.

            Amelia looked up in a casual manner, ignoring the little floating blob and the ship's cook. "By the way, isn't that one of your cabin boys aimlessly footing about up there?"

            Silver nodded, looking proud. "Yep, it - oh..." He started to look a little panicked when he realized what the captain had said, but then he calmed himself. "A momentary aberration, Cap'n, soon to be addressed. Jimbo!"

            Jim looked down from his perch near a solar sail. Liz thought he looked somewhat bored and maybe even comfortable up at that height.

            "I got two new friends I want you to meet!" Silver continued.

            Jim came down, looking like he was expecting to shake someone's hand and start talking about the ship's inner workings.

            Silver instead showed him an identical set of tools of what he had already given Liz. "Say hello to Mr. Mop and Mrs. Bucket."

            Jim's eager expression turned into a bored, annoyed expression. "Yippie." He grabbed the mop and the bucket, muttering, "Yeah, I got your Mr. Mop."

            He started mopping vigorously, then ended up running into one of the crew members when he didn't watch where he was going. Liz had been purposefully avoiding that area of the deck just so that she wouldn't end up getting in danger to having her head chopped off.

            The large, muscled man that Jim had run into let out a low growl. "Watch it, twerp."

            Jim started to slow in his work as the rest of the crew turned to look at him with suspicious glares.

            "What are you looking at, weirdo?" asked a man with a tentacle beard. The head then walked off, revealing that the rest of the body had a head in the chest area.

            "Yeah, weirdo?" the chest repeated. The two body parts looked at each other and grinned maliciously.

            There was a loud hiss as a figure stepped out of another group of pirates. Liz took one look at the red alien with his large pincers and quickly adopted a glare. This guy was someone who she was not about to trust - even more so than the rest of the crew.

            "Cabin boys should learn to mind their own business," the alien hissed.

            "What do you mean by that?" Sora demanded, coming over to stand next to Jim. He pointed his mop at the alien in an aggressive manner. "That you've got something to hide?"

            The alien looked at him. "Maybe your ears don't work so well." He started to walk over to him in a menacing manner.

            Liz, who was standing nearby, pinched her nose. She was starting to feel a little more bold after Sora had started to confront the alien, and decided to join in on the name-calling. "Too bad our noses work just fine."

            The alien glared at her. "Why you impudent little -"

            The crew took notice of the argument, and thought that a fight was starting to brew up between the cabin boys and the red alien.

            "Go ahead!" one called. "Slice 'em! Dice 'em!"

            The slug Sora had run into at the start of the voyage released a series of noises, probably saying something similar.

            The alien turned to glare the children, raising a pincer menacingly. "Any last words?"

            In the distance, someone called out, "Mr. Scroop!"

            The alien, who was most likely being addressed, didn't notice. Instead, he turned his full attention to Jim. "You ever see what happens to a purp when you squeeze real hard?" He snapped his pincers again for emphasis.

            Arrow suddenly thrust his way through the crowd. "What's all this, then? You know the rules. There'll be no brawling on this ship."

            There was a unanimous "Aye, aye, sir." that sounded like no one wanted to say it or agree with the rule.

            "Any further offenders will be confined to the brig for the remainder of the voyage," Arrow continued. He turned and glared at Scroop. "Am I clear, Mr. Scroop?"

            Scroop glared back at the first mate. "Transparently," he hissed. He turned and started off for another section of the ship, the other members of the crew scattering.

            "Well done, Mr. Arrow, sir!" Silver exclaimed as the crowd finished scattering. "A tight ship is a happy ship, sir."

            Arrow looked at the cook cautiously, but then gave a nod of approval and walked away.

            Silver turned around on one foot and glared at the kids. "I gave all of you a job to do."

            "And we were doing it until that bug thing -" Sora started.

            "Belay that!" Silver interrupted. "Now, I want this deck swabbed spotless. And heaven help ya if I come back and it's not done." He looked at Morph, who was floating beside him as usual. "Morph, I want you to keep an eye on these young pups, and let me know if there be any more distractions."

            "O.K.!" Morph saluted as best he could in his blob bush form. "Aye, aye." He flew over to Jim and transformed into a giant eyeball, which then moved to look at each of them in turn.

            Silver gave a nod of approval at Morph's form, then turned and started for the galley. Liz could have sworn that the man was smirking.

            After about fifteen minutes of mopping, Jim let out a sigh. "Well, this has been a fun day..." He looked over at Morph and continued sarcastically, "Making new friends with that spider-psycho."

            Morph transformed into a small version of Scroop. "Spider-psycho, spider-psycho," he chanted, grinning.

            Liz grinned and let out a chuckle. "A little uglier," she suggested.

            Morph inflated Scroop's head as he cackled. "Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

            Jim smirked. "Pretty close."

            "Well, thank heavens for little miracles," Silver remarked as he reappeared from who knew where. "The deck's still in one piece." He looked surprised, but Liz suspected that he was faking it.

            Jim looked over at the ship's cook and started to stumble over words. "Look, I, uh... What you did... Thanks."

            Silver walked over to Jim, giving him a curious look. "Didn't your pap ever teach you to pick your fights more carefully?"

            Jim looked away from Silver, his silence probably providing a better answer than any words.

            Liz's eyes widened. She knew that a lot of stories had something like this involved, but hadn't thought that it was in this world, too.

            Silver seemed to get whatever message Jim was probably trying to convey. "Your father's not the teaching sort." The statement came out cautiously, like the old sailor was testing the waters.

            "No," Jim replied. He started attacking the deck, cleaning more thoroughly with his mop than he had been. "He was more the taking off and never coming back sort."

            "Oh. Sorry lad."

            Jim shrugged. "No big deal. I'm doing just fine."

            Silver gave him a curious look. Liz couldn't help but think that the cook was cooking up an idea.

            "Is that so?" Silver finally asked. "Well, since the captain put you in my charge, like it or not, I'll be pounding a few skills into that thick head of yours." A grin spread across the sailor's face.

            Jim looked at him in surprise. "What?"

            "From now on," Silver continued, "I'm not letting you out of me sight."

            "You can't do -" Jim protested starting to get angry.

            "You won't so much as eat, sleep, or scratch your bum without my say so," Silver finished, talking over Jim, a proud expression on his face.

            "Don't do me any favors!" Jim growled.

            "Oh, you can be sure that I will, my lad, you can be sure of that," Silver muttered to himself. He turned to look at the other three, then frowned when he saw that Liz, Sora, and Kairi had been watching the argument rather than swabbing the deck. "Oi! Put some elbow grease into it."

            The three looked at each other, the group looking somewhat sheepish. Then they started mopping again.

            Over the next few days, Silver kept his word and watched Jim at all times. The cook ended up gathering all of his cabin kids together so that it wouldn't seem like he was leaving Sora, Liz, and Kairi out of any of the lessons Silver was giving to Jim. Usually, the group would end up in the crow's nest (after Sora had helped Kairi and Liz get up without falling and breaking something), learning something about ship knots and which ones were used in which situation.

            Liz couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Jim during these times; the boy would get through the knot and slip out of the crow's nest even before Silver had started to explain about how to put the knot together. When the cook would see this, he would just shake his head and go back to teaching the other three.

            Over time, the group of other-worlders would watch as Jim and Silver started to develop a student-mentor bond that would normally be found in father-son pairs. The two started sneaking out in the middle of the night, after most of the crew had gone to bed, and look up at the stars while Silver pointed out constellations.

            The only reason Liz knew that was because she snuck out after them one night out of curiosity.

            While she did find the stargazing fun, there was something about them that caused her to wonder where her sister was out among them.

**Time Break**

            Liz sat down in a corner near a open hatch at the bottom of one of the ship's holds, watching through the opening at the starry scape as she waited for Silver and Jim to return. The two had started to take out a small skiff whenever they had the chance, which usually meant that Liz, Sora, and Kairi had to take care of whatever the two bonding sailors had left undone. While they were relieved that they didn't have to cook half the time, doing the dishes after the meals wasn't particularly fun, either.

            While Liz was lost in thought, the skiff came up into the hatch. Jim and Silver were grinning and laughing at their latest excursion out into the final Frontier. Morph, who was always with them, was adding his own chittering noise as a delightful accompaniment.

            "Oh, Jimbo," Silver said as he mopped his brow, "if I could maneuver a skiff like that when I was your age, they'd be bowing in the streets when I walked by today." He stepped out of the skiff as the hatch closed underneath the small boat. The cook looked somewhat relieved to be on relatively solid ground again.

            "Bowing in the streets!" Morph repeated in a delighted chirp.

            Jim jumped out of the skiff with ease and started to tie it down with one of the knots that Silver had taught him. "I don't know about that. They weren't exactly singing my praises when I left home."

            Liz blinked, then cocked her head slightly in confusion, wondering if Jim was a troublemaker back on his home "world".

            Silver let out a sigh as he leaned against a wall, probably releasing a pent-up breath from the ride. He slid down the wall into a relaxed sitting position. Morph quickly did the same, collapsing into a puddle on the floor.

            "But I'm gonna change all that," Jim continued, not so much as looking up from his knot as he finished it and moved onto the next one.

            "Are you, now?" Silver asked, intrigued. He looked over at the boy with a curious expression. "How so?"

            "Uh...well, I got some plans," Jim replied carefully.

            Liz nodded quietly from where she sat in agreement. At least he isn't going to reveal anything.

            "Gonna make people see me a little different," Jim continued, sounding more confident.

            Silver's face became downcast. "Oh. You know, sometimes, plans go astray." He rubbed the back of his neck with his non-robotic hand, looking over at Jim.

            Jim shook his head as he finished tying up the second knot. "Not this time."

            Silver started to slowly get to his feet, only to suddenly moan in pain. He bent down to examine his robotic leg with a look of concern. Morph, seeing that his friend was in trouble, flew down to get a better look, then chittered before transforming into a wrench.

            For some odd reason, seeing the wrench sent shivers down Liz's spine.

            "Oh, thank you, Morphy," Silver sighed with relief. He took Morph in one hand and tightened a bolt on his robotic pegleg.

            "So, how'd that happen, anyway?" Jim asked, motioning to the leg.

            "You give up a few things, chasing a dream," Silver replied without looking up. He finished tightening the bolt, let Morph go, then stood up.

            "Was it worth it?"

            Silver let out a short laugh, then sighed. "I'm hoping it is, Jimbo. I'm hoping it is."

            Above them, there was a sudden scream from some terrified, high-pitched crew member.

            "What was that?" Liz asked, jumping to her feet and looking up in alarm. "It sounded like someone stepped on the lookout!"

            Jim and Silver looked at Liz, then at each other. A moment later, all three were dashing up to the main deck.

            "What the devil?" Silver asked as the trip got up onto the deck.

            "Good heavens!" Doppler exclaimed. He pointed at the great flash of light that had caused the screaming to start from the lookout. "The star Pelusa has gone supernova!"

            Liz swallowed when she saw the exploding - or imploding - star so close to the ship. She was getting the feeling that there was something that was going to go wrong.

            "Evasive action, Mr. Turnbuckle!" Amelia shouted at the alien at the wheel.

            "Aye, aye, Captain!" Turnbuckle replied, starting to turn the wheel. The ship started to move under Liz's feet, then shuddered when it was hit with a wave of energy from the star.

            "All hands, fasten your lifelines! Mr. Arrow, secure those sails!"

            "Secure all sails!" Arrow called as the crewmen ran about, securing their lines and going up the rope ladders. Silver, Jim, and Sora were among them, while Liz and Kairi stayed close to the main mast, occasionally double-checking to make sure that none of the knots came undone.

            "Reef them down, men!" Arrow continued.

            One of the crewmen was having a fun time taking out the meteors of star that were hurtling towards them by utilizing a cannon that was mounted on the deck. "Yeah, baby! Ba-boom! Hah hah hah hah!" Another wave hit the ship, but that didn't stop him.

            Liz, when she heard him, wondered if the alien was somewhat mental.

            Silver, tying down one side of a sail, suddenly lost his balance high above the deck. "Aah!" He started to fall off his perch.

            "Silver!" Jim exclaimed. He grabbed his lifeline and hauled the cook up.

            "Thanks, lad," Silver said.

            "Captain! The star!" the lookout screamed, pointing frantically.

            "It's devolving into a..." Doppler let out a gasp as the bright flash was suddenly sucked into itself. "Black hole!"

            "We're being pulled in!" Turnbuckle called as he tried to turn the ship away from the space whirlpool. However, the pull from the black hole was too strong, and he was suddenly thrust back, leaving the wheel unattended. It started to turn rapidly as the ship started to tilt in the direction of the pull.

            "Oh, no you don't!" Amelia snapped as she took the wheel. Liz suspected that the cat was referring to the black hole rather than Turnbuckle.

            The ship was then blasted by another energy wave from the black hole, causing everyone to stumble.

            "Blast these waves!" Amelia cursed. "They're deucedly erratic!"

            "No, Captain!" Doppler called out. "They're not erratic at all! There'll be one more in precisely 4.2 seconds, followed by the biggest magilla of them all!" He waved around a device that was in one gloved hand, as though he was trying to prove his point.

            Amelia seemed to be struck by an idea, and her eyes widened in realization before a grin spread across her face. "Of course! Brilliant, Doctor! We'll ride that last magilla out of here."

            "All sails secured, Captain," Arrow reported as the crew started to come down from the masts.

            "Good man!" Amelia called back. "Now release them immediately!"

            Arrow looked confused. "Yes, Captain." He turned to the crew. "You heard her, men! Unfurl those sails!"

            "What?" Silver demanded.

            "But we just finished..." Sora started.

            "Tying them down!" another alien finished.

            "Make up your bloomin' minds!" one of the crew shouted as everyone started back up the rope ladders.

            "Mr. Hawkins, Miss Liz, make sure all lifelines are secured good and tight," Amelia ordered before Jim could start back up again.

            "Aye, aye, Captain," the two said together, giving Amelia a nod. They went over to the main mast and started pulling on the ropes and double-checking the knots to make sure everything was secure. A couple knots looked loose, so Jim tied those more tightly while Liz finished off on the other knots.

            When they were done, Liz called, "Lifelines secured, Captain!"

            "Very good!" Amelia replied. The ship was then blasted by another wave, forcing everyone to scramble for something to hold onto.

            "Captain!" Doppler yelped as he looked at his device. "The last wave! Here it comes!"

            "Hold onto your lifelines, gents!" Amelia called with a Cheshire-like grin. "It's going to be a bumpy ride."

            The lookout let out a whimper as the ship fell into the darkness of the black hole.

            Liz couldn't blame him; the idea of falling into a black hole wasn't all that pleasing to her, either. The darkness became do complete so quickly that Liz couldn't see her hand in front of her face, and she started to feel like someone had trapped her in a bear hug and was continuing to squeeze even tighter.

            Right before the hug could start to get painful, there was a flash of light from deep within the darkness, and a wave of energy was thrust out and hit the ship, sending it flying out of the black hole at high speed.

            There was a general, loud cheer from the crew as members climbed down from the masts, shaking their fists at the black hole that was now far behind.

            Doppler, in a fit of pure joy, ran over and hugged Amelia. "Captain! That was -" He suddenly caught sight of something and released the Captain with a yelp alarm. "Jim! It's those dark things again!" He pointed, panicked, at the dark creatures that had suddenly started to appear on the deck. The crew scattered to areas that were safer for them, while the lookout looked down from the crow's nest with wide, terrified eyes.

            "They're called Heartless!" Sora called back as his Keyblade materialized. Kairi's Keyblade appeared at the same time, Liz's sword appearing not too long after.

            "Let's get 'em, guys!" Sora called. The three charged at the group of dark creatures, weapons raised.

            The Heartless turned their heads when they heard Sora's voice, then started towards them. Liz, Sora, and Kairi were unfazed, however, and started hacking at them. Within a few minutes, not a single Heartless remained on the ship.

            "They must have caused that star to go supernova," Kairi remarked as their weapons vanished.

            "We probably picked them up when we were pulled in and then shot out," Liz added, nodding in agreement.

            Amelia blinked, looking surprised at the fight that had taken place before her eyes. However, she still managed to keep her composure. "My, my. What did you call those creatures? Heartless?"

            Sora nodded. "That's right We've got a feeling that they may be after..." He hesitated, but then continued, "...something on this ship. Doppler let us tag along because of them."

            Liz and Kairi nodded in agreement.

            Amelia turned to look at Silver. "Well, I must congratulate you, Mr. Silver. It seems your cabin boys have been training quite well under your care. They did a bang-up job with those lifelines." She gave a smile, and the cook chuckled out of thanks.

            "Everyone accounted for, Mr. Arrow?" Amelia asked, looking around. When there wasn't an answer, she repeated, "Mr. Arrow?"

            Scroop walked through the crew, which parted in front of him. The red and black alien was carrying the hat that Arrow had worn. "I'm afraid Mr. Arrow has been lost," he said quietly. He glared over at Liz and Jim. "His lifeline was not secure."

            _Uh-oh,_ Liz thought.

            Jim shook his head, a panicked look on his face when everyone turned to look at him and Liz. "No, no. We checked them all." Noticing the suspicious looks, he repeated, "We did. We checked them all. They were secure."

            He and Liz ran over to the main mast, where the lifelines were still tied. One was missing.

            "I swear," Jim said quietly. "They were secure."

            Liz didn't say anything, looking shocked at the missing rope. "They were tied. I double-checked." She looked over in Scroop's direction, and her eyes narrowed when she saw that the alien had a more snide look on his face than he had carried before.

            Amelia ignored them. Instead, she stated while holding the hat, "Mr. Arrow was a...a fine spacer. Finer than most of us could ever could be. But he knew the risks, as do we all." She started to walk over to her stateroom, saying, "Resume your posts. We carry on."

            The crew dispersed. Silver, however, walked over to where Jim was standing. The boy was clearly decimated.

            "It weren't your fault, you know?" the cook asked, putting his non-robotic hand on Jim's shoulder. "Why, half that crew would be spinning in that black abyss-"

            "Don't you get it?" Jim demanded, turning on Silver. "I screwed up! For two seconds, I thought that maybe, I could do something right, but -" He let out a noise of frustration, pushing Silver's hand off him. "Forget it. Just forget it."

            Silver frowned. "Now you listen to me, Jim Hawkins. You have the makings of greatness in ya, but you gotta take the helm and chart your own course. Stick to it, no matter the squalls, and when the time comes, and you get the chance to really test the cut of your sails, and show what you're made of, well I hope I'm there, catching some of the sun coming off ya that day."

            Jim looked over at him and, surprisingly, started to cry.

            Silver started to comfort him. "There, there, lad. It's all right, Jimbo. It's all right." He glanced around nervously. "Now, uh, Jim, I best be getting about my watch, and you'd best be getting some shut-eye." He looked at Liz. "And that goes for you, too. None of this was your fault. You did what ya could, and there wasn' anythin' else."

            Liz gave a nod. Her eyes were a little teary-eyed, but she was able to hold the tears back.

            "Now, how about you four get some shut-eye, huh?"

            The four nodded. Sora, Kairi, and Jim started to walk towards the entrance to the lower deck. Liz started to follow after them. As she went, she heard Silver mutter quietly, "Getting in too deep here, Morphy. Next thing you know, they'll be saying I've gone soft."


	11. Meet and Greet

            Probably about a week or so into the journey, the expedition group had passed through more caves and tunnels then Maria could count, and had now been stopped by a giant stone wall that created a natural dead end. Rourke had instantly called for a halt and ordered Vinny up to the front of the caravan to inspect the wall.

            Curious, Maria had followed the explosives expert up to Mole's drill. Lea followed close behind her, but Maria was sure it was just because he didn't want her to get into any trouble accidentally.

            "So, what have you got, Vinny?" Rourke asked, looking over the Italian's shoulder as he looked through his bag. "Can you blow this thing up?"

            "Well, I could if I had two hundred of these," Vinny replied as he waved around a stick of dynamite with an almost careless motion. "But I've only got, like, ten of these, plus five of my own... And a couple cherry bombs." He held up a group of three golden balls that didn't look like they had any sort of fuse. He dug even deeper into his bag and came up with a red stick that had white caps on either end. "Road flare. Hey, if we had some nitroglycerin, maybe I could blow through this wall."

            The Italian looked over at Milo and smirked, but the linguist didn't return the amused expression. Neither did Maria, who had moved to stand next to the tall, gangly young man. Lea was standing behind the both of them with a deadpan expression.

            Above them, Mole burst out into a loud bout of laughter.

            "Is that enough?" Rourke asked, getting the Italian's attention.

            "No." Vinny looked back at Rourke. "We've used up a lot of my stock already."

            Mole, who had been sitting in his seat up in the drill, cackled excitedly again when he heard Vinny's statement. The stocky, short man clapped his hands together in an odd rhythm.

            "Well, Mole," Rourke called up, "I guess now we have to dig."

            Mole laughed again. "It would be my pleasure." A large grin spread across his face as he started up his giant drill and proceeded to drive up to the wall in order to start drilling. However, something in the engine suddenly gave out with an explosion of smoke, causing the the drill to stop right in front of the wall.

            Mole let out a loud cry of frustration and banged his head on the wheel, causing the horn to go off loudly as he slammed a fist into the dash.

            Maria and Lea exchanged glances.

            "Something definitely happened back there," Maria remarked. "And I'm going to figure out what." She started around the drill. Lea followed after her.

            "H-hey!" Milo scrambled after them, catching up with them as the two reached the back of Mole's drill. The trio reached the back of the drill just as Audrey was opening up the back.

            Audrey let out a cough as a large cloud of black smoke came tumbling out of the back end. Maria ended up taking a couple steps back so that she wouldn't have to inhale it.

            "Look's like the rotor's shot," Audrey remarked. "I'll go get the spare."

            "Actually, I think -" Milo started.

            "Don't. Touch. Anything," Audrey growled, turning on her heel to glare at the linguist. "And that goes for you two, too." She pointed at Lea and Maria, then turned around and walked toward the truck that was parked closest to the drill.

            Milo watched the mechanic go for a moment, then peered into the drill. Grabbing a wrench, he climbed in and started to hit certain parts of the engine, causing loud creaking and groaning noises to be heard. Turning wheels connected to pipes produced the same cacophony until the engine suddenly roared to life.

            Mole's cry of delight echoed throughout the cavern a few seconds later: "She lives!"

            Maria found herself grinning, as well.

            Audrey ran over from the truck, her gloved hands balling into fists as she glared at Milo. "What did you do?" she demanded.

            Milo looked a little nervous at the sudden amount of attention and, rubbing the back of his neck while a more victorious look came over his face, he explained, "Well, back at the museum, they had a boiler that was a lot like some of the stuff in this engine. I figured that the whole engine must have overheated like the boiler did, so I did the same thing here as I did in the museum basement."

            The linguist gave a smile, hoping that would do the trick in order to get Audrey to relax.

            Audrey glared at him, then inspected the engine in order to make sure that Milo didn't do anything wrong to it. Then she slammed the back of the drill shut and returned her attention to Milo and clenched a fist. Milo took half a step back, and Audrey punched him in the arm twice.

            "Two for flinching," the mechanic growled. Then she turned around abruptly and stomped off towards her truck.

            "Ouch," Milo muttered, rubbing his arm. "Didn't she see that I was just trying to help?"

            "She probably did," Maria remarked, watching Audrey as she disappeared behind one of the trucks. "Maybe she just didn't like that you managed to find a way around replacing a part." She looked back at Milo. "She probably can't believe that a bookworm managed to outdo her."

            Milo gave a wry smile. "I guess she just doesn't have any experience with boilers, then."

            Maria grinned and let out a short laugh. "I guess not!"

**Time Break**

            There was the sudden sound of silence as Mole's drilling attachment suddenly powered down ahead of the caravan. The abrupt stop caused Maria to stop concentrating on keeping a Fire Sphere together, and she looked up the line of still-moving trucks in surprise.

            "Think we're going to stop for the night?" Maria asked, glancing over at Lea.

            The other shrugged. "Probably."

            Gradually, the caravan drove through the tunnel that Mole's drill had created.

            When Audrey managed to leave the tunnel, Maria found herself looking around in awe at what they had found.

            "This is a pretty big cavern," Maria noted, looking around with wide eyes.

            "We've got some natural light, too," Audrey reported from the truck cab. She pointed from the driver's window up at a giant yellow rock that was suspended from the ceiling like a chandelier.

            Maria looked up herself, her eyes looking over the strange rock formation. Something about it set her off, but she wasn't sure what.

            "I'm not sure I like that thing very much," she remarked. "It doesn't exactly look natural." She returned her gaze to the truck cab. "Think Mole may have an idea about how it formed or something?"

            "Maybe," Audrey replied. Maria could see the mechanic shrug through the back window. "He likes to see things up close, though. Probably wouldn't be able to say anything about it."

            "I think even a guess would make me feel a little better."

            "Same here," Lea agreed. Maria caught sight of small sparks of flames flying off his gloved fingertips. "There's something about it that makes me feel on edge."

            Maria nodded in agreement. "That's why I asked. I was kind of thinking of not sleeping and working on trying to get this fire stuff down a little better." She held up her left and and wriggled her fingers; fire sparked off the tips. "Think you could help me out?"

            "Anything to keep my mind off that thing."

            The caravan soon came to a stop in a relatively wide circle under the "chandelier", with a specific area that was left as a place for people to do their business that was almost directly below the rock formation. Maria couldn't help but get the feeling that it was going to be important later. Or that the ornately carved rock bridge behind them led to something important.

            While the members of the caravan were setting up camp, Lea and Maria moved outside of the camp barriers so that they could work in peace - and without Cookie trying to give them some of his so-called "dinner."

            However, before either one of them could start to use fire, someone called out both of their names.

            "Maria! Lea!"

            The two fire-users turned their heads, catching sight of a group of people sitting around a campfire just outside of the camp's borders.

            "Get over here!" The dark-skinned man - Dr. Sweet - called. "You kids shouldn't work yourselves to death."

            Lea and Maria looked at each other, the latter blinking with a blank expression on her face. Lea, however, shrugged.

            "May as well. He's not going to leave us alone until we go over there." The Keyblade user motioned for Maria to follow him before starting for the campfire.

            Cautiously, Maria followed. She hadn't spent much time with the members of the crew, and she wasn't exactly eager to do so for a reason that remained solidly buried in the back of her mind, where she couldn't get access to the information.

            Lea sat down next to Sweet, Maria taking the open, upright rock that was next to him. A third empty seat was the only thing between her and Mole, who looked like he was ready to do something that he thought was horribly funny.

            "Hey, Milo!" Audrey turned in her seat and shouted up a rocky hill towards the linguist, who was sitting by himself and going through a certain old book. "How about you come down here and sit by us, huh?"

            Milo looked up from his book and pushed his glasses up his nose. The look on his face was that of a curious cautiousness. "You mean that?"

            "Yeah - get over here!"

            Milo quickly gathered his things and started for the campfire, balancing his tray on top of a large collection of notes. He moved around and sat down on the open seat between Maria and Mole.

            There was a sudden explosion of sound as Milo collapsed onto the open spot. A certain Frenchman suddenly burst out into loud laughter, rolling off his seat and onto the rocky ground.

            "Mole!" the others shouted, clearly annoyed.

            Maria smirked quietly, hiding her mouth behind her hand as she looked down at the protruding, open end of a pink balloon.

            Mole's rolling about slowed to a stop, leaving the short Frenchman wriggling his feet in the air while he hugged himself. "Oh! Forgive me...I could not resist!"

            Maria shook her head, dropping her hand to show her smirk. "How did he even bring that?" she asked, motioning to the deflated whoopee cushion Milo was sitting on.

            Audrey sighed and gave a shrug, a helpless look on her face. At the same time, however, she also looked amused. Her gaze moved to Milo, and she blinked when she saw that the linguist once again had his nose in the Journal.

            "Milo, haven't you gone through that like, what, ten times already?" the mechanic asked, frowning.

            "Yeah, but every time I go through it again, I discover that there's new technologies that they had," Milo replied. "Look at this - flying machines, lighting; it's just incredible." He looked at the others. "Of course, you guys probably aren't as interested as I am. Why'd you come along, anyway? The history, or the money?"

            "Money," everyone except Maria and Lea replied.

            "And you two?" Sweet asked, pointing at the two fire users with his fork. Maria couldn't help but notice that he was actually managing to eat what Cookie had handed out to the crew.

            The question Sweet had thrown out was one that really puzzled Maria, though. There was an answer that she could have said that could expose her origins.

            But, there was another one that Maria knew would be a better answer.

            "I'm here for the adventure and the history," Maria finally stated. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with leaving home for a little trip into the unknown to cement one's independence, is there?"

            "I don't know about that," Sweet remarked. "Too much adventure could be bad for your health. Especially when a person stows away in a place she doesn't belong." He looked at Maria with a meaningful look.

            Maria blushed in embarrassment. "Well, I guess there's that." She gave a slight chuckle. "I wasn't exactly planning on getting in some sort of...underwater vehicle, though."

            Submarine, she mentally reminded herself a second later.

            "None of us were until that old man brought it up," Audrey pointed out. "As if that stopped me from signing up right away. If this thing's got treasure at the other end, it's going to help me a lot."

            Milo gave a nod, then started to rub the back of his neck with a look of discomfort coming over his face. Sweet took note of this and, getting up, walked over to Milo and suddenly grabbed Milo's head and twisted.

            Maria winced when she heard the cracking noise that resulted from the sudden movement. She wondered if it had hurt whenever that happened

            "Better?" the African American doctor asked.

            Milo rotated his neck and head, producing more quiet cracks as his neck started to loosen up. "Yeah," he said. He turned to look over at Sweet as he moved back to his seat. "How'd you do that?"

            "Native American trick I learned from my mother," Sweet explained. He showed Milo, a picture, then turned so that Lea and Maria could see it, as well.

            Maria blinked as she looked over the picture of an African American man and a Native American woman standing together. In a basket on the woman's back was a baby.

            "Dad made sure that I got the rest of the education I needed," Sweet added.

            Mole, who had managed to get back onto his seat after his long, laughing fit, looked over at Milo and started to eye his tray of Cookie's goop. The Frenchman reached out for it. "May I?"

            "Uh...sure," Milo replied. He carefully moved the tray over, so that he wouldn't get any of the food on him or his notes. "Knock yourself out."

            Mole eagerly started wolfing down the disgusting mush like he was nothing more than an animal. Maria turned away so that she wouldn't have to watch, but that didn't stop the noise from getting through.

            "So, what are you kids really here for - besides the adventure?" Audrey asked.

            "The Dream Eaters," Lea replied simply. "If we weren't here, they would have probably attacked in constant waves, and no one would have heard from you again." He leaned forward slightly, the fire giving his visage a rather sinister look. "No one."

            There was silence around the campfire as Lea's words too hold. Maria had to resist giving a violent shudder.

            "Well, on that note, we should probably finish setting up camp," Vinny muttered.

            The others nodded in agreement, then dumped their trays into the campfire.

            The fire exploded upon contact, sending a mushroom cloud up into the air.

            Maria looked a little sick upon seeing this. "Yeech," she declared.

            The others nodded in agreement.

            "I don't know what Cookie puts in it, and I don't want to find out," Sweet stated.

**Spacial Break**

            A single figure sat on a rocky outcropping high above glittering lights that shimmered below the giant yellow rock. His silver hair had taken on a yellow sheen thanks to the light coming from almost directly below him.

            It had taken a few days to find the caravan's tracks, and he had remained at a good distance behind until this point. The potion that Sora had concocted had managed to give him some extra strength in order to finally catch up.

            The silver-haired young man let out a sigh and started to get to his feet. Now was the time to find out how Lea was doing and whether or not he had heard anything while in this realm of sleep.

            Before the man could get fully to his feet, however, something grabbed him from behind. Pain blossomed on the back of his head, and everything went black.


	12. Mutiny!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halfway through, and I can already see improvements in writing style. I guess it helps that I rewrote this at one point.

            About two weeks or so into the voyage, Liz woke up in the morning to find the lookout staring at her from his hammock with a hungry look on his face.

            Before he could make a move, however, he found Liz's scimitar pointing at his nose as she pushed her glasses back to their natural position on her face rather than askew.

            "Don't make any wrong moves, or I'll shish-kabob you," she growled.

            The lookout's eyes widened as soon as he saw the blade. Even from his perch in the crow's nest, he had seen Liz, Sora, and Kairi destroying the Heartless that had started to appear more frequently.

            He let out a yelp and disappeared quickly. A moment later, he peered up over the edge of his hammock, eyes wide.

            Liz let her weapon vanish, then started to get up out of her hammock. After sending another glare at the lookout, who once again backed down, Liz sat down and pulled on her white shoes, which had somehow managed to remain unscathed for the entire journey.

            A distance away from her, the slug who spoke Flatula was snoring in his own way. One especially loud snore startled the crewman sleeping below him, who happened to be Jim.

            "Ugh!" Jim fell to the floor with a loud thud next to his boots; surprisingly, the noise didn't wake the other crew members. He started to slowly pull on his boots, only to have one start hopping away from him.

            "Morph?" Jim asked sluggishly. He obviously hadn't woken up fully yet.

            The boot stopped bouncing and turned around, almost as though it was looking back at the sleepy cabin boy.

            "Morph, knock it off. It's too early for this." Jim started to move slowly to an upright position.

            The boot sat there for only a moment, but then it hopped back to Jim, and kicked him in the rear. Jim went tumbling onto his stomach.

            "Ow! Hey, Morph!" Jim exclaimed, scrambling around to face the shifter.

            The boot stuck a tongue out of the toe and raspberried loudly at Jim. Then it flew and hid behind a chest at the opposite end of the deck, near the stairs that led to the upper deck.

            Jim let out a laugh. "Hey, come back here!" he exclaimed. He went over and looked behind the trunk.

            "Come back here!" Morph mimicked, flying up from behind the trunk. He was now in his natural form, Jim's actual boot in his grip. Jim made to grab his boot, but Morph chittered and flew higher and out onto the main deck.

            Jim looked over at Liz, who had been watching this series of events with a slightly amused looked on her face. "Come on!" The two ran out onto the deck, leaving behind crew members who were starting to stir.

            Up in deck, Liz and Jim quickly started to work at cornering the cook's trickster-pet. When Morph realized that he was being slowed by his cargo, he threw the boot in Jim's face and started to fly around at a higher speed. Jim ended up pulling on his boot while Liz ran around the deck trying to catch Morph herself.

            Eventually, Liz managed to succeed in grabbing the little pink glob.

            Jim ran over to Liz and gave the girl a nod of approval before turning his attention to Morph. "All right. That's it, you little squid."

            Morph giggled and slipped out of Liz's grip, transforming into Jim's head as he did so. "You little squid," he mimicked. Then he slipped through the grate at Liz's feet and into the deck below. A moment later, Morph popped up again as two heads. "You little squid."

            Jim tried to hit the two heads, but they disappeared into the grate again, repeating as smaller and more numerous heads.

            "Squid, squid, squid, squid," Morph chanted as he came up as smaller and more numerous. Then he suddenly stopped coming up.

            Jim and Liz looked at each other, then smirked and dashed for the stairs that led down into the galley. As soon as they entered the empty kitchen, they started to search for the little pink blob.

            "Aha!"

            Liz looked up from where she had been peering into a stove and looked behind her just as she saw Jim dive into one of the barrels where they kept the purps.

            "Busted!" the boy crowed as Morph started to chitter loudly from laughter.

            Liz let out a laugh and dashed over to peer into the barrel herself, only to stiffen before she could look down at Jim; the teen heard footsteps coming over the upper deck.

            Without bothering to stop and think twice, Liz looked into another barrel nearby and, seeing that there was enough room for her among the purps, jumped into it and out of sight. Finding a hole in the barrel, Liz peered out and watched as figures filed into the galley.

            "Look, all I'm saying is that we're sick of all this waiting," one of the crewmen growled, looking at a figure in the center of the group.

            "There's only six of them left," another added.

            "We want to move now," a third stated.

            "We don't move till we got the treasure in hand," a familiar voice growled.

            Liz felt her blood freeze. _Silver?_

            "I say we kill them all now," another familiar voice - Scroop - growled.

            "I say what's to say!" Silver snapped in reply, causing Liz to stiffen. She had heard him that mad only once. "Disobey my orders again like that stunt you pulled with Mr. Arrow, and so help me you'll be joining him!"

            Liz suspected that Jim was really surprised by what he was hearing. The words were shocking her, as well.

            "Strong talk, but I know otherwise," Scroop hissed. He walked over to a barrel close to Liz's and started feeling around for a purp. Liz suspected that it was Jim's barrel.

            "You got something to say, Scroop?" Silver growled.

            "It's that boy and those three tagalongs. Methinks you have a soft spot for them." Scroop brought up the purp and poked a hole in it.

            In her barrel, Liz gulped.

            "Yeah," the others in the room agreed, nodding and growling.

            "Now mark me, the lot of ya," Silver said quickly in a low growl. "I care about one thing, and one thing only. Flint's trove. You'd think I'd risk it all for the sake of some nose-wiping whelp? Or his three friends?"

            Liz's eyes widened, only for them to narrow into slits a moment later.

            Something was telling her that the cook was lying, but she wasn't sure whether she should believe it or not.

            "What was it now?" Scroop muttered. "Oh. 'You've got the makings of greatness in ya'?"

            "Shut yer yap!" Silver snapped back. "I cozied up to the kids to keep them off our scent. But I ain't gone soft."

            Above, there suddenly was a muffled cry of, "Land ho!"

            The pirates looked at each other upon hearing this, then quickly ran up the stairs to look at what had caused the call.

            Liz and Jim took the opportunity to climb of of their barrels - almost exactly at the same time.

            "Sounds like we've reached our destination," Liz remarked to Jim.

            The cabin boy eyed her, then nodded absently in reply. Morph was floating next to him, eyeing the boy with a curious, concerned expression.

            As the two moved to the center of the galley, Silver limped down the stairs, muttering to himself, "Where the devil's me glass?" He stopped at the base of the stairs when he caught sight of two of his "cabin kids."

            "Oh. Hello, Jimbo. Liz." His hands moved behind his back. "Playing games, are we?"

            "Yeah," Liz replied, trying to keep a nonchalant tone.

            "Yeah, we're playing games," Jim said in agreement. He reached for a knife that was on a table behind him, and tightened his grip on the handle.

            "Oh, I see," Silver replied, looking somewhat calm - but also nervous. "I was never really all that good at playing games. Always hated to lose." There was an audible click from behind his back.

            "Me, too!" Jim replied as he dashed forward. The knife suddenly found a home in Silver's robotic leg, causing the cook to collapse. Jim then took off out of the galley, followed closely by Liz and Morph.

            "Come on!" Liz said. "We've got to warn the Captain and the others!"

            There was a loud whistle as Silver suddenly limped out of the galley, his robotic arm now armed with a sword. "Change of plan, lads!" he yelled. "We move now!"

            The entire crew cheered; weapons suddenly appeared in their hands and they started to rush for Jim, Liz, Sora, and Kairi. The second pair having been standing nearby looking at the planet that had been seen: a gray orb with two dust rings going around it in the form of an X.

            Jim grabbed Liz's arm as Sora grabbed Kairi's, then started running for the captain's quarters, where Amelia was already forcing Doppler to follow her inside. Luckily, over the course of the voyage, he had given up on using his spacesuit, and was now wearing normal clothing. The four kids reached the door just as the flag on the main mast was exchanged for a black flag with a skull and two crossed swords in white.

            "Pirates?" Kairi asked, worry clear in her voice.

            Sora, however, looked excited enough that he wanted to jump up and grab the flag so that he could dance with it. "This is so cool!"

            "I don't think so," Liz replied, quickly pushing the Keyboade user in the direction of huge captain's quarters. "These guys don't look like the other pirates you ran into. I think these guys want us dead."

            Sora's excited look faded almost instantly. He didn't look too happy about what he had heard, but also looked reluctant to move around. Jim and Liz ended up pushing him in the direction of the door, and the whole group slipped inside.

            Amelia shut the door behind them and locked it. "Pirates on my ship," she muttered to herself as she moved over to a cabinet and threw it open. "I shall see they all hang." She backed away from the cabinet and, after strapping what looked like a pistol to her belt, handed tossed one over to Doppler. "Are you familiar with these, Doctor?"

            "Well, I've seen - I've read - " The gun Doppler was fumbling to hold fired a shot into the floor, leaving a hole in the floorboards. "No, no I'm not."

            Amelia chuckled, then tossed the brass orb that was the treasure map at Jim. "Mr. Hawkins, defend this with your life!"

            Morph looked at the sphere with interest and snatched it out of Jim's hands, chittering in giggling tones.

            "Morph, give me that!" Jim barked, lunging after the little pink blob.

            The pink blob dodged Jim's lunge and dove into the hole in the floor that Doppler had created.

            "We need to go after that thing," Liz stated, her eyes narrowing. "It's going to take that map straight to Silver, and then where will we be?" She summoned her sword and jumped through the hole after it. Jim and the others quickly followed. The entire group ended up in the lower decks, among pipes and red lights.

            "Quick! To the long boats!" Amelia directed, motioning for the group to follow her.

            "We need to find Morph!" Jim protested.

            Amelia turned sharply and looked down at the cabin boy. "You have to understand, boy, that these passageways only lead up to the main deck when you reach the docking bays. Now, if you would follow me, we might get there before that little thing gets to the upper deck!" She turned around again and started down the passageway at a fast pace, the others running after her.

            The group reached the docking bay right when Morph did, only the little creature had nearly reached the door that probably led to the upper decks.

            From the other side of the door, there came the sound of the pirates shouting and running towards the docking bay.

            "Morph, no!" Jim exclaimed as the pirates started to pour into the docking bay.

            Amelia, who was already getting into the longboat with Kairi and Doppler, also saw the pirates. "Chew on this, you pus-filled boils!" the captain roared, firing at the pirates. The shots hit the floor, forcing the pirates back, but not out of huge docking bay.

            Doppler, who had been watching with a terrified expression, covered his eyes with a hand and fired in what he thought was just a random direction. However, the laser shot hit a beam and disconnected one end from the ceiling; the whole beam came crashing down on the pirates, essentially taking them out of commission.

            "Did you actually mean to do that?" Amelia asked Doppler. She looked mildly impressed.

            Doppler looked at the gun, then at what had happened when he had shot. "Uh...yes, yes I did!"

            Above them, the gears that had been slowly lowering the longboat suddenly stopped moving. Below, the opening in the ship started to close.

            Liz turned and glared at a pirate, who was leaning against a lever and grinning mischievously.

            "Blast!" Amelia exclaimed, glaring up at the cables. "Doctor, when I say 'now,' shoot the forward cable. I'll take this one." She moved into the back of the ship and took aim as Sora jumped in.

            Doppler nodded nervously and sat down in the bow in the skiff.

            Meanwhile, Liz and Jim had started to try to coax Morph to give back the map. Silver, who had forced himself into the docking bay, had started to try to coax Morph over in his direction.

            "Morph, here, Morph!" Jim called, motioning for the little pink blob to come forward.

            "Come here, Morph, bring it here," Silver coaxed. He started to whistle, thinking it would give him some more leverage than just his voice.

            Morph started to float over to Silver, keeping the map in his mouth and looking like a puppy who was simply enjoying the attention.

            "Morph!" Liz exclaimed suddenly, catching the blob's attention. "Bring it here, Morph."

            "Come here, come here, boy," Silver called soothingly. "Come to your dad."

            Morph started to look between the three, an increasingly confused look on his face as he tried to decide to whom he wanted to go. Eventually, he decided to dive into a coil of rope that was lying nearby.

            Jim and Silver dove for the rope at once, but Jim got to it first. Grabbing the map, Jim jumped into the longboat with Liz close behind him just as Amelia exclaimed, "Now!"

            The ropes were cut apart by the laser blasts, and the boat fell through the opening in the floor just before it closed, leaving a devastated Silver glaring after them as his temper rose.

            "Parameters met, hydraulics engaged," Amelia muttered as the longboat took off towards the planet below.

            There was the sound of a sudden explosion from the ship.

            "Captain!" Jim exclaimed, pointing towards the Legacy. "Laser ball at nine o' clock!"

            Amelia started to move the longboat out of the way of the attack, but it was too late; the laser ball took out the solar sails attached to the longboat, sending the group spiraling down to the planet below.

            It was a bumpy landing: the boat flew through what looked like a giant mushroom, then skipped on the ground a couple times before flipping over completely and skidding to a halt.

            Liz ended up keeping a tight grip on both sides of the boat and was gripped around the waist - most likely by Kairi. When they finally came to a stop, she was amazed at the fact that she had managed to get away from the collision with the ground unscathed - and without so much as flying out of her seat.

            Amelia and Jim assisted Liz and the others to get out of the "capsized" boat so that they could stretch out and get a good look at the world around them.

            Doppler let out a sigh as he got out of the boat - the last of the group. "Oh, my goodness. That was more fun than I never want to have again."

            Amelia chuckled lightly. "That wasn't one of my gossamer landings." The captain gained a pained expression as she spoke then clutched her side and fell against the boat.

            "Captain!" Kairi exclaimed. She quickly ran over and started to help Amelia to her feet.

            "No, no, don't fuss," Amelia relied calmly as she tried to stand on her own. "Only a slight bruising." She started to collapse again, but Kairi was there to hold her up. "Cup of tea, and I'll be right as rain." She looked at Jim, who was holding the map. "Mr. Hawkins, the map, of you please."

            Jim nodded, then started to press buttons on the sphere. However, the map suddenly let out a giggle and started to shift under Jim's fingers.

            Liz started to ask a question; however, she never got to finish it. "What -"

            The map let out one last squeal of laughter before it went from bronze to pink and flew out of Jim's hands.

            "Morph?" Jim asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

            "I think the more important question is where the map is," Sora remarked.

            Morph split in two and became a coil of rope - identical to the one he had hidden in - and the map. The map flew into the coil of rope.

            "Are you serious? It's back on the ship?" Jim demanded.

            Morph went back to his blobby self and nodded vigorously, smiling as he did so.

            Liz let out a groan. "Great. Now we've got to go back up!"

            There was the sudden hum of engines somewhere above them, causing Amelia to look up.

            "Stifle that blob and get low," she growled. "We've got company, and need a more defendable location."

            There was another longboat coming out of the ship, and it looked like Silver was in the bow.

            "Mr. Hawkins, Miss Liz, scout ahead," Amelia ordered, pointing at the two teenagers. "Find some decent shelter and report back as soon as possible."

            "Aye-aye, Captain," the two replied. After sending each other a glance, they turned and walked into the strange foliage of the planet around them and disappeared from sight. On a whim, a certain pink blob flew after the two teens.


	13. Hello Atlantis!

            "All right. Let's try this again."

            Maria grunted as she summoned her fire in her hands and let it crawl up her arms until they had reached her elbows. Then, glaring at a large boulder in front of her, she threw her right fist forward with a look of concentration on her face.

            Her fist slammed into the rock, sending the fire flying over the rock in the form of an X. After a moment, however, the fire faded quickly, leaving a scorch mark.

            Maria herself was soon jumping around, holding her hand as she hissed through her teeth in pain. A thought came from the back of her head that made her wish she had actual words that would let her express this pain, but she quickly put it down; hissing was good enough.

            For now.

            "I didn't burst the boulder," Maria muttered as the flare of pain faded to a dull throb.

            "No," Lea agreed. "But your fire is getting stronger." He motioned to the X shape on the rock. "You probably wouldn't haven't been able to get that a few days ago."

            "Yeah, but at this rate, by fists won't be any help against those Dream Eaters," Maria argued. She looked down at her hands, then clenched them. "There's no way that they're going to be of any use. Maybe if I can get that staff to show up again..."

            "That staff only seems to show up when there are Dream Eaters around," Lea stated. "I wouldn't count on it showing up for a training session."

            "Hey, kids! You two ought to be getting ready to hit the sack!"

            Maria turned her head, and she caught sight of Sweet standing next to the two tents that Maria and Lea had set up before going for a training session. The big African American was motioning for them to come over by the camp.

            "We'd better listen to the doctor," Lea remarked. "I do not want to get water dumped on me when I'm working on my control." He walked past Maria and started for his tent. The teenage girl was not far behind him.

            "So, Vinny, what made you decide to do what you do?" Milo was asking as the two fire users started to get into their small tents.

            "As far as me goes, I like to blow things up," Vinny replied as he lay down in his tent. A black eye covering lay over his eyes, and a match stuck out of his mouth - much like a cigarette would.

            Maria made herself comfortable on her mat, lying on her stomach. She could tell this was going to be an interesting story.

            Sweet walked over and pulled up the eye covering so that he could look the Italian in the eye. "Come on, Vinny. Tell the kid the truth."

            The eye covering landed on Vinny's face with a loud snap! as Sweet turned on his heel and started to walk away.

            The Italian got up on one elbow, one eye free of the covering as he glared off in Sweet's direction.

            "My family owned a flower shop," he stated, plopping back onto the mat and starting to wave his arms around for descriptive motions. Yanking the eye coving off his face completely, he continued, "We would sell roses, carnations, baby's breath - you name it."

            Milo, who had his upper body propped up on his elbows, put his head in his hands and shook his head, looking rather interested in the story the explosive expert was telling.

            "One day, I'm making about three dozen corsages for this-a prom - you know, the one they put on their wrist - everybody, they come 'where is it, when is it, does it match my dress?'" The Italian yanked on his green shirt as if he was the girl who was asking about the corsage. "It's a nightmare." A gloved hand was smacked over his eyes, as though he was annoyed by simply remembering the incident. "Anyway, I guess there this leak next door to gas or what - BOOM! - no more Chinese laundry."

            Maria giggled at the sudden change in position. Vinny looked very animated when he described the explosion. Plus, his accent made it sound even more funny.

            "Blew me right through the front window," the Italian continued, flipping over and making a sweeping motion with one arm. "It was like a sign from God."

            The match - which had somehow made its way out of his mouth and into his hand, was lit by and easy flick of his thumb. "I found myself that boom." He placed his hands on either side of his head as the match went out.

            At the same time, the was the sound of someone digging near the campsite. Maria peered out of her tent just in time to see Mole disappear from site in a hold of his own making. A light that he always seemed to carry with him went out almost immediately after, and the sound of ominous, sinister chuckling echoed quietly through he cavern.

            Maria found herself having a harder time keeping the laughter inside for that one.

            "What about Mole's story?" Milo asked, motioning to the hole the short Frenchman had dug.

            "Trust me on this one, you don't want to know," Sweet replied quickly. He pointed over at Audrey, whose tent was a short distance away. "Audrey, don't tell him, because you shouldn't have told me, and now I'm telling you you don't want to know." He picked up a lamp and was about to blow out the flame inside, but then paused and looked in Maria's and Lea's direction.

            A moment later, an eye cover smacked Maria in the face.

            "You're going to need that," Sweet warned. "Miss Packard sleepwalks." With that, the lamp was blown out, leaving the group in almost complete darkness, save for the glowing yellow rock high above their heads.

            Maria blinked as a thought crossed her mind. _Getting into your jammies, Miss Packard?- I sleep in the nude._ She shuddered, then slipped the eye cover under her glasses and tried to get comfortable on the mat.

            Something told her this was going to be a long night.

**Spacial Break**

            Maria awoke with a start when she heard someone - or something - rummaging through their section of camp. It took her a moment to realize she was still wearing an eye cover, and she tore it off, managing to catch her glasses before they fell off her head and onto the rocky floor. Putting them on and placing the eye cover on her mat, Maria started to look around for the source.

            The glowing yellow rock above the camp looked even more eerie when there wasn't anyone moving around. The camp looked like it was caught in a strange place between life and death.

            Which made the figure wearing a giant tiki mask even more terrifying.

            Maria let out a quiet yelp and scooted back into the confined of her tent, watching with wide eyes as the blue and purple mask moved around the camp, inspecting each tent and sleeping figure before moving on to the next one.

            Soon, the figure disappeared from sight.

            Maria blinked when the figure disappeared, and looked around the camp for a moment. No one else seemed to have noticed the visitor, and Maria wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

            There was a sudden shifting in one of the tents, and a flashlight clicked on as Milo stepped out of his tent, looking groggy. He started off for a rise that was located nearby, and Maria figured he probably needed to do his business.

            A moment later, the tiki-person appeared in front of Maria's tent, causing her to give a yelp and stumble back to the edge of her mat. The girl curled her legs to her chest and crossed her arms over them in a hopefully defensive measure.

            However, that didn't stop the tiki from moving closer and muttering something that sounded only remotely human.

            Maria's left ear twitched when she heard the voice. It sounded like whoever it was might be familiar...

            The tiki figure grabbed the large face and lifted it up, revealing the face of a young woman with large, dark brown eyes that looked at Maria with something that looked like wonder.

            The young woman repeated something that sounded to Maria like it was maybe a mix between an African language and a baby babbling nonsense.

            "Sorry," Maria stated quietly with a shake of her head. "I don't understand you."

            The woman frowned, then looked out of the tent for a moment before returning her gaze to Maria. Now the eyes were filled with determination.

            "You must leave this place," she stated quickly. An accent clearly showed through in her voice - it definitely sounded like it was African. "There is danger."

            "Danger?" Maria blinked. "From what?"

            Suddenly, there came a loud yell that sounded like Milo. "FIRE!"

            The woman froze upon hearing this. "Find me across the rock-bridge. You can find better shelter if you follow me." The tiki mask was thrown back over her face, and she dashed out of the camp as everyone else started to stir.

            Right when a small, glowing yellow bug landed on Vinny's tent and exploded into flames.

            "BOOM!" the Italian yelped as he scrambled out of his tent. "Who threw that?"

            "I don't think anyone threw anything, Vinny," Sweet replied as he scrambled out of his tent. "These bugs look angry!"

            "Save what you can!" Rourke's voice echoed through the cave. "We need to move out before these things destroy everything!"

            Maria, realizing that she was a sitting duck in this situation, quickly scrambled out of her tent and grabbed the tarp that made it. As quickly as she could, she started to roll it up so that it would be easier to carry.

            Lea scrambled out of his tent as a bug caused it to burst into flames and he looked around in alarm at the chaos that was ensuing. "What in the name of Kingdom Hearts is going on?!"

            "Fireflies, that's what!" Maria replied, picking up her rolled up tent and throwing it over one shoulder. "We have to get out of here with what we can - and hopefully across the bridge!"

            "I can save the camp," Lea argued, glaring at Maria. "You can, too. It's simply a matter of controlling fire."

            "Then use it to keep the parts that aren't on fire safe! We have to move now!" Maria turned and started dashing for the trucks, which were starting to move towards the rock bridge that was located nearby.

            Behind her, she heard Lea say something under his breath, then follow after her at a run.

            The two reached Audrey's truck right when it started to move towards the bridge. Maria managed to leap on without Lea helping her up; the Keyblade user jumped on at the same time.

            "You're getting better," the redhead noted with a grin.

            "Kinda helps when you're on a diet of nothing but potions from your world," Maria replied with her own grin.

            The caravan was quickly assembled and started to move out over the rock bridge and to the other the other side of the abyss far below, Mole's drill first.

            As they reached what might have been the halfway point, Maria felt her spine suddenly freeze. _\- A break in the rock - falling into darkness below - tiki masks -_

            In a panicked tone, Maria started to count down: "Five...four...three...two...one -"

            There was a loud CRACK as something broke behind them; Maria gripped the edge of the truck bed as she felt the ground below them shift suddenly. Now the caravan was climbing up a hill...and Mole's drill wasn't going to be able to keep up with the sudden slant.

            "Back up, back up, back up!" Maria yelled into the window at the back of the cab. "We're not going to make it to the other side!"

            "What do you mean, 'we're not going to -'" Audrey cut herself off when Mole's drill started to roll backward, first slowly, then at a more alarming speed. "Oh. Backing up."

            The truck promptly went into reverse, and it started to back up, but it was too late to keep ahead of the rest of the caravan. Audrey's truck was rammed into by the one in front of it, and the whole caravan fell off the break in the bridge and into the dark ravine below.

            Maria was almost thrown off the back of the truck during the fall, but Lea managed to grab her before she fell to a possible death - or, at least, major injury.

            After a few minutes of silence - when the sounds of rocks and trucks falling had finally stopped - a small light came into existence, Rourke's voice sounded through the darkness. "All those alive, sound off."

            "We're fine!" Lea called out over the collection of groans that followed from the order. Maria wasn't among the people who had groaned; she was working on getting fire to sprout from her fingertips for more light.

            A moment later, the match in Rourke's fingers went out, but it was soon replaced by the flickering light that had come to life in Maria's hands. Her determined gaze remained on the fire as it started to split off and fly out around the cavern, giving the area more light. A pair of survivors started to go around and put them into lanterns.

            Maria watched out of the corner of her eye as the last spurt of flame went into a lantern, then released her hold on the fire and slumped down in exhaustion. The fires faded for a moment, then strengthened themselves again as they fed off their new fuel.

            "Damage report?" Rourke asked, looking around at the vehicle carnage.

            "We can salvage a few trucks, but the rest are just scrap," Audrey reported. "We can use them to repair the other cars, though."

            "How high do you think this thing goes?" Helga's voice echoed in the cavern.

            As if in answer, Vinny pulled out his road flare, lit it, and sent it up. The mini firework hit a ceiling high above them and went out with a loud thud.

            "We are sitting in a dormant volcano!" Mole suddenly exclaimed from where he was sitting on a nearby rock.

            "A volcano?" Helga looked over at the Frenchman. "Is it going to go off anytime soon?"

            "No no no no no; she will not go off." Mole looked over at Helga, his eyewear nearly poking her in the face, but she pushed the eyewear back into Mole's head. "Only if a large explosion were set off."

            Everyone looked over at Vinny, who was trying to screw in the back of a broken alarm clock, which was attached to a small number of dynamite sticks.

            The Italian paused and looked up. "I should work on this later."

            Rourke looked up, a thoughtful expression on his face. "This thing could be our ticket out of these caves," he remarked. He started to look around, then raised his voice. "Milo? What does your book say?"

            The cave was eerily quiet.

            Audrey looked around. "Where is Milo? He's got to be around here somewhere..."

            "Maybe I can find him," Lea spoke up. He started to walk across camp, fire crawling up his arms.

            "What do you mean?" Maria started to work at getting herself to her feet; after bringing out that much fire and making sure it stayed lit for as long as it had, she was feeling awfully hungry. Guess Sora's potion must have worn off.

            "It's something I've been practicing for a while," Lea explained. "Fire releases heat, and we release heat, so maybe I can figure out where he is." He closed his eyes; the fire on his arms flared in response.

            And right then, the rock tiki Dream Eaters materialized around the crash site.

            "No!" Maria quickly scrambled to her feet; screw fatigue, these things were looking for a beating! "Not now, you little freaks!"

            Flames exploded into being in her hands, turning into a fiery staff which Maria then started using on the Dream Eaters, sending the fire through most of them before they could get close enough to the crew members and Lea. Those that did soon found themselves pounced upon before they could attack.

            "Die, rock monster!" Maria exclaimed as she slammed into the last Dream Eater, which had gotten too close Audrey and Mole. A moment later, the creature dissipated into smoke and dust. Exhaustion caught up with the girl, however, and she collapsed onto her hands and knees, panting.

            Audrey didn't help her up; the mechanic backed away rather quickly instead, dragging the Frenchman with her. A moment later, Audrey wiped her hands on her trousers and glared at Mole, who gave her a helpless shrug. The mechanic then threw her hands up in the air and stomped off.

            A pair of gloved hands did come and help Maria to her feet. "I've never seen someone so zealous," Lea remarked. He handed Maria a small bottle of blue potion. Maria quickly took it and swallowed. "What got into you?"

            "I didn't want the Dream Eaters getting to anybody," Maria replied. "There were a lot of them this time, so I had to be fast." Strength returned, Maria got into her own two feet and turned to look at Lea. "Find Milo?"

            Lea gave a nod. "Yeah." He pointed in the direction of a small break in the rock nearby. "He's over in that direction."

            Mole looked over at Lea in surprise, but then his nose started to twitch. He glared down at it, but then his eyes widened and he looked in the direction of the break that Lea had pointed out earlier. He quickly scrambled into his drill and started the engine up; it came to life with a dull roar, and the drill started to spin at a fast speed. A moment later, the drill was going through the wall of the volcano, carving a path for the rest of the caravan to follow.

            Something tickled the back of Maria's mind, but it never fully developed into something, because she exclaimed, "Come on!" and took off running after the drill. Around the cavern, other trucks that were still usable started to life and followed after the drill.

            Because the drill was going through some pretty dense rock, Maria was able to catch up with Mole's drill and grab onto the back to ride the rest of the way which, to her surprise, was actually a short trip. There was a sudden jolt a few minutes after she had grabbed on, and the vehicle suddenly picked up speed.

            Maria let out a yelp of surprise when a blast of bright light shone through a break in the rocks, and she covered her eyes withe her free arm so that she wouldn't be blinded. When the drill slowed to a stop and the engine was killed, the girl cautiously lowered her arm, blinking rapidly to adjust to the sudden change in light. Almost instantly, her eyes had widened to the point that they were nearly coming out of their sockets.

            Maria jumped off the back of the drill and came around as the other members of the crew stepped into the light (the trucks couldn't fit past the drill when people were coming out). Everyone stared in shock at what lay before them.

            "Did we end up back on the surface?" Lea asked, frowning as he looked around.

            "I don't think so," Maria replied with a shake of her head. "This looks like a whole new world." Her gaze went out over the strange, jungle-like area the group had stumbled upon - there were even the cries of animals that sounded so exotic, it was like they had ended up somewhere in the rain forests. "I just hope it isn't the land time forgot."

            "What?" Lea gave Maria a confused look.

            "It's nothing." Maria paused and frowned. "Well, I don't think it is for Keyblade users, at any rate."

            Behind them, there was the sound of something sliding down a rocky slope. Maria turned around to look...and stiffened in surprise.

            The same tiki mask that she had seen not but what felt like a few hours before was standing in front of the hole they had made in the side of the volcano. But it wasn't just one tiki mask - there had to have been seven different designs, at least.

            The one mask that Maria recognized was removed from the woman under it as the stranger spoke in the African-sounding language. Her gaze - now stern, not filled with wonder like it had been back in the caves - went over the entire group, pausing only twice.

            Maria didn't bother to look back to see who the deeply tanned woman had paused on the first time.

            Then Milo's voice came from somewhere behind her, speaking in the same language the woman had used a moment before. The linguist stumbled as he spoke in a slow, methodical manner, just so that he could get the words right.

            In response, the woman frowned, then repeated the words at Milo's pace. Maria wondered if the woman was double-checking what Milo had just said.

            Then, almost immediately, Milo continued speaking...but in a different language. Maria, spotting him standing in the corner of her eye, wondered if the woman was going to be able to understand - it sounded nothing like -

            Before Maria could finish her train of thought, the woman responded quickly in the language Milo had introduced, speaking as though it were in her own tongue, to use the Biblical term.

            Then Milo asked her if she understood French. When the woman replied with a delighted "Yes!" (which was, of course, in French), Mole suddenly became very ecstatic.

            "She speaks my language!" the little Frenchman exclaimed. He ran over to the woman and pulled on her skirt lightly. "Pardon me, mademoiselle."

            The woman smiled lightly and got down on her knees so that Mole could say his piece. What he whispered in her ear, however, was not something that she wanted to hear. The short Frenchman was given a smack across the face for his trouble.

            "About time he got what was coming to him," Sweet remarked, grinning.

            "Yeah," Audrey agreed. However, she looked disappointed. "Too bad it wasn't me."

            Slowly, hesitantly, the other tiki-warriors removed their masks - revealing men with the same skin tone and light blue tattoo markings. They began to greet the other crew members in various languages from around the world.

            _"Hallo,"_ one man said to Maria, smiling slightly. _"Wie heisst du?"_

            _"Ich heisse Maria,"_ Maria replied, returning the smile and glad that she had decided to take German classes in school. _"Und wie heisst du?"_ If she noticed that other members of the crew were giving her suspicious looks, she at least didn't respond to the expressions.

            The man, placing his hand over his chest - and the strange, glowing blue crystal he wore on a necklace - said something that Maria could hardly catch up with, except for the _"Ich heisse_ -" at the beginning of his sentence, and one syllable of his strange, African-sounding name.

            "Is it all right if I just call you Kaz?" she asked, switching to English.

            The man laughed a deep belly laugh. _"Ja."_

            Meanwhile, Rourke was looking around in confusion while Milo was paging quickly through the Shepherd's Journal, an excited look on his face.

            "Milo, what's going on?" Rourke asked the resident geek.

            "It seems like Atlantean is a base language for all other existing languages," Milo replied. He looked up from his reading material, using his arms for emphasis on his next sentence. "Kind of like the Tower of Babel."

            "Meaning, they should be able to speak English, right?" came Helga's voice.

            _"Woher kommen Sie?"_ Kaz inquired, not noticing the conversation that was going on between Rourke, Milo, and Helga.

            Maria was about to open her mouth to answer when Rouke's raised voice called out in the area.

            "We are but humble travelers," Rourke told the group of multi-linguals. "And we have need of a place to rest and refuel."

            "Welcome to Atlantis," the only woman in the group announced in perfect English. She motioned to the plateau in the distance, which Maria now realized had a city atop a small island of dry land in the center of what looked like a large lake. At the edge to the plateau, small isles of rock jutted out at perfect intervals.

            Maria's eyes widened as she looked at what lay before them. "Wow..." They had found Atlantis!

            At the back of her head, something reminded Maria that she had seen this before, and a quick vision of what she had seen on TV slipped into her mind before it faded into her memories.

            "Come!" the woman added, taking Milo's wrist. She pulled him down a rocky path at the side of the cliff.

            _"Komm, bitte,"_ Kaz added, placing his hands on both Maria's and Lea's shoulders. He started to steer them down the path, Maria's eyes sparking with delight.

            They had finally found Atlantis!

**German translations:**

**"Wie heisst du?" - What's your name/who are you?**

**"Ich heisse Maria." - "My name is Maria."**

**"Woher kommen Sie?" - "Where do you come from?"**

**"Komm, bitte." - "Come, please."**


	14. Temporary Shelter on Both Sides

            "Y'know, I've been hoping to ask you something this entire trip," Jim suddenly remarked, breaking the silence.

            "Hmmm?" Liz looked up from where she had been peering through a small bunch of reed-like plants. "What's that?"

            "What got you into this whole 'Heartless' war thing in the first place?" Jim gave Liz a curious look. "I mean, people wouldn't have trusted a girl to do that kind of thing."

            Liz paused. "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm not good enough, you know," she snapped. "I can hold my own against those things just as well as Sora can." As if to prove her point, she brought out her sword and slashed away at she reeds she had been looking through, but nothing appeared.

            "I'm not saying you can't," Jim replied quickly. "It's just that...well, it's kinda odd. Do people let women fight where you come from?"

            "Well, yeah," Liz replied. "Anybody who can walk and talk at least knows they can punch and kick and scream when they're in danger." She turned and glared at a tree that looked pretty slender and easy to cut and raised her sword.

            However, she was stopped short when a rusty robot with a compass on its chest burst out of the trees with a scream and hugged Jim tightly.

            "A carbon-based life form here to rescue me at last!" the robot exclaimed, hugging Jim all the tighter. "Oh, I just want to hug you and squeeze you and hold you close to me."

            Liz smirked at the words, and wondered if Jim had ever heard of the Looney Tunes.

            "All right, all right! Would you just let go of me?!" Jim demanded as he tried to push away the robot and get out of its grip.

            "Sorry, sorry, sorry," the robot said as it released Jim. "It's just that I've been marooned for so long. Solitude's fine, don't get me wrong, but after one hundred years, YOU GO A LITTLE NUTS!"

            The last bit he yelled in Liz's face, which got him a rather angered look from the girl.

            Realizing what it had just done, the robot backed up quickly. "I'm sorry, am I...I am, um... My name is, uh..."

            Liz and Jim exchanged looks while the robot fumbled with its words, looking like it had lost something on the ground and fiddled with his fingers as he tried to look for it.

            Morph transformed into a miniature of the robot and made cuckoo noises, the compass on the chest of the miniature popped out an in like an old cuckoo clock's alarm device.

            "B.E.N.!" the robot suddenly burst out. "Of course, I am B.E.N." He tapped the compass on his chest, adding in a short explanation, "Bio-Electronic Navigator."

            The compass suddenly popped out, held in the air by a spring coming from B.E.N.'s insides. The robot pushed it back in.

            "And you two are?" B.E.N. asked, looking at the two humans expectantly.

            "Jim," Jim replied.

            "Liz," Liz stated.

            "Nice to meet you, Jimmy, Lizzy," B.E.N. said.

            "It's Jim and Liz," Liz corrected, annoyed.

            The robot started to speak again. "Anyway-"

            "Look, we're in kind of a hurry, okay?" Jim interrupted, annoyed. "We've got to find a place to hide, and there are pirates chasing us."

            "We're kind of in a hurry," Liz repeated for emphasis.

            "Pirates!" B.E.N. exclaimed, startled. "Don't get me started on pirates. I don't like them. I remember Captain Flint. That guy had such a temper."

            "Wait - you knew Captain Flint?" Jim asked.

            "Who's Captain Flint?" Liz asked, frowning. "I've heard you guys say that name a few times already."

            "He's only the greatest pirate to ever sail the seven galaxies!" Jim replied, excited. "That's who the treasure on this planet belongs to!"

            "I think he suffered from mood swings, personally," B.E.N. continued, ignoring the conversation. "I'm not a therapist, and anyway..." He trailed off. Looking at Liz and Jim, he said, "You let me know when I'm rambling, will ya?"

            "If he knows who Captain Flint is, then that means..." Liz looked at Jim, who realized where she was going with the statement.

            "You should know about the treasure, then," Jim said to B.E.N., a determined expression on his face.

            "Treasure?" the robot repeated, blinking.

            "You know, Flint's trove? The loot of a thousand worlds?" Jim prodded.

            B.E.N. looked nervous at Jim's questions. "Yes, well, it's-it's-it's a little-little-little fuzzy."

            He looked at Jim, the stutter continuing through his voice. "Wait. I-I r-r-remember! Treasure! Buried in the centroid-centroid-centroid of the mechanism. And there was this big door opening and closing and opening and closing. And Captain Flint wanted to make sure that nobody could get to his treasure, so I helped him-"

            The robot started to splutter, sparks flying from the back of his head. "Warning! Warning! Inconsistent data! Reboot! Reboot!"

            "B.E.N.?" Jim asked. "B.E.N.!"

            The robot sagged, then looked over at Liz and Jim with a blank look. "And you are?"

            "Wait! What about the treasure?" Jim demanded, sounding somewhat panicked.

            "I'd like to say Larry," the robot muttered to himself, making Liz sigh in annoyance.

            "The centroid of the mechanism!" Jim shouted at B.E.N., hoping to jog the robot's memory. "Don't you remember? You were saying something about it a minute ago!"

            "I'm sorry, but my memory's not what it used to be," the robot said with a sigh. "I've lost my mind. Ha-ha! Lost my mind." He looked at Liz. "You haven't found it, have you?" He turned around and pointed at some colored wires poking out the back of his head. "My missing piece? My primary memory circuit?"

            "Look, B.E.N.," Liz said with a sigh, "we really need to find a place to hide. So we're gonna be, y'know, moving on."

            B.E.N. blinked at the girl, then let out a sigh. "Oh. I guess this is good-bye, then, huh? I'm sorry that I'm so dysfunctional. So go ahead and...I do understand. I do. Bye-bye." He waved, then turned and started back into the forest.

            Liz, Jim, and Morph looked at each other, gauging the others' expressions. Eventually, Jim let out a reluctant sigh, then muttered something in a defeated tone.

            "Look, if you want to come along, you're going to have to stop talking," Jim muttered.

            B.E.N. turned around and suddenly grabbed Jim in another bear hug. "Oh, this is fantastic! Me and my best new buddies are looking for a..." It saw the look on Jim's face. "Being quiet," he whispered, ducking his head slightly.

            "And you have to stop touching me," Jim added in a strained voice.

            B.E.N. released him from the hug. "Talking and touching, my two big no-nos." he laughed lightly, as though he had just made a joke, but then pretended to zipped his mouth shut.

            "O.K., now that that's settled, I think we should head -" Liz started.

            "Hey, before we go on our big search," B.E.N. interrupted, "can we make a quick pit stop at my place?"

            The robot pulled back the reeds he had popped out of, revealing a giant "building" made of earth, sitting on a hill in a clearing into the middle of the forest.

            "It's kind of urgent," he added with a nervous chuckle.

            "B.E.N, I think you just solved our problem," Jim said, blinking in surprise.

            "I'll go get the others," Liz volunteered. She turned around and ran back to the longboat as fast as she could. "I won't be long!"

**Time Break**

            "Uh, pardon the mess, people," B.E.N. apologized as Liz, Jim, Sora, Kairi, Doppler, and Amelia stepped into his home, which truly looked like a miniature junkyard. "You'd think that in a hundred years you'd tend to dust things more often...but when you're batching it, you tend to, uh, let things go."

            He chuckled lightly, but no one responded.

            The robot caught sight of a look that passed between the captain and the astrologist as Doppler placed Amelia gently on the ground, with her upper body leaning against a sloping wall of the hut.

            "Aw, isn't that so sweet?" B.E.N. grinned at Liz. "I find old-fashioned romance so touching, don't you?"

            Before Liz could answer, the robot had turned around and disappeared, reappearing moments later with some rather unusual-looking cups, one of which was blowing bubbles.

            "Drinks for the happy couple?" the robot inquired, cocking his head slightly.

            Doppler and Amelia looked a little surprised at the question, then both said at once, "No."

            The two then looked at each other in surprise and blushed, quickly turning away.

            "Thank you, but we don't drink," Amelia stated.

            "And we're not a couple," Doppler added.

            _Suuure you aren't_ , Liz thought, rolling her eyes with a humored look on her face.

            Doppler looked at the wall of the hut, spotting something that caused his immediate interest.

            "Look at these markings," he said, pointing to the wall. "They look like the ones on the map. I suspect that these are the hieroglyphic remnants of an ancient culture."

            Amelia started to try and get up. "Jim, Liz, stop anyone who tries to approach," she ordered. A moment later, she let out a groan as she held onto her side.

            "Yes, yes, now listen to me," Doppler said as he gently forced her back to lean against the wall. "Stop giving orders and lie still for a milliseconds."

            Amelia looked genuinely impressed by Doppler's sudden order. "Very forceful, Doctor. Go on, say something else."

            "Hey!" B.E.N. suddenly shouted, putting a stop to all other conversation. "There's some of your buddies! Hey, fellas! We're over here!"

            Laser gunfire was instantly blasted up into the house, causing the robot to start moving around quickly to avoid the shots before falling backward on his behind.

            At the same time that B.E.N. landed, someone below called, "Stop wasting your fire!"

            Liz's eyes narrowed as soon as she heard the voice. "Silver," she muttered.

            Jim's eyes narrowed, as well.

            "Hello up there!" the cyborg pirate called, not knowing that someone had just muttered his name. "Jimbo, Liz, if it's all right with your captain, I'd like a short word with the two of ya. No tricks, just a little palaver."

            "He's probably come to ask for the map," Sora noted, frowning.

            "Pestilential..." Amelia managed to get out before grabbing her side in pain again. Liz wondered if it hurt to breathe.

            "But that means he thinks we still have it," Kairi noted, her eyes widening in realization.

            Jim and Liz exchanged glances upon hearing Kairi's statement, then jumped out the "front door" that B.E.N. had been standing in earlier. Morph followed after the pair as they started down the hill.

            As the pair of humans neared the leader of the rebel pirates, Morph flew over to his old companion happily, chirping excitedly.

            "Ah, Morphy!" Silver exclaimed, his no robotic hand reaching up and touching the little shifter affectionately. "I was wondering where you'd gotten off to." He flinched as his false leg suddenly collapsed from underneath him.

            Liz instantly caught sight of the cane his robotic hand had become in order to cope with the crippled machinery.

            Silver let a groan. "Oh, this leg's been downright snarky ever since that game attack in the galley." He chuckled nervously.

            When neither Jim nor Liz answered - or laughed along with him - the pirate sighed and said, "Look, whatever you heard back there, at least the part concerning you...I didn't mean a word of it. Had the bloodthirsty lot found out I'd gone soft, they'd have gutted us both." He jabbed with a thumb back in the direction to the group of pirates that were standing around at the base of the hill.

            Liz frowned. Something about all this was horribly familiar, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it... The girl decided to keep her face a mask and watch how the conversation might play out. Jim, too, kept his face a mask.

            "Look, of we all play our cards right, we could walk out of here as rich as kings," Silver said quickly in a hushed voice. Morph's eyes widened eagerly when he heard this.

            "Yeah?" Liz ventured, raising an eyebrow.

_*Careful*_ something inside her warned. _*He could be lying*_

            _I know,_ Liz replied, suspecting her conscience was talking.

            Silver chuckled, looking as kind as the old cook had been at the start of the voyage. "You give me that map and...an even portion of the treasure is yours."

            Jim let out a short laugh. "Boy, you are really something. All that talk about greatness, the light coming off my sails... What a joke."

            Silver looked a little worried at this sudden outburst. "Now, see here, Jimbo -"

            "I mean you taught me one thing," Jim continued, his voice rising, "stick to it. And that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to make sure you never see one dabloon of my treasure!"

            "That treasure is owed me, by thunder!" Silver roared in response.

            "Well, just try finding it without my map, by thunder!" Jim retorted.

            The cyborg pirate glared at Jim. "Oh, you still don't know how to pick your fights, do you, boy? Now, mark me." He pointed at Jim and Liz accusingly. "Either I get that map by dawn tomorrow, or I'll use the ship's cannons to blast ye all to kingdom come!" He turned around and started to limp back to the other pirates. "Morph, hop to it! Now!"

            Morph looked from Silver to Jim, a little anxious about the choice in front of him.

            Silver paused and looked back. "Morph!"

            The little shifter let out a small, meek chirp and backed up to Jim's shoulder, looking saddened by the split friendship. Neither Jim nor Liz made a move as though they were going to go with Silver.

            The pirate glared back at the trio, then turned and limped back to the other pirates in a huff.

            **Spacial Rip**

            Maria looked around in awe as they walked through the streets of Atlantis, her eyes quickly scanning the white buildings and taking in each and every one of the carvings that she could. Kaz, who had not left either Maria or Lea alone since they had entered the city, looked amused by Maria's curiosity at the city around them.

            "What's with you?" Lea asked, looking over at Maria.

            "I've always had a thing for history because of my parents," Maria replied, glancing in Lea's direction. "And we're walking through a very important piece of history for this world. It gets me all excited just thinking about it."

_"Geschichte?"_ Kaz asked, frowning. _"Was ist Geschichte?"_ **[German: "History? What is history?"]**

            "It's something that happened in the past," Maria replied, looking back at the Atlantean. "Yesterday, for instance, could be considered history. Hundreds of years ago is definitely history."

            "Ah." Kaz nodded in understanding.

            It wasn't long before the group of surface dwellers reached a large pair of doors located at the entrance of what looked like a palace. A pair of Atlantean guards stood on either side of the door, holding spears.

            When they saw the Atlantean woman leading them, the men bowed, then pushed open the doors and let a number of the explorers through (Maria, Lea, Rourke, Helga, Audrey, Mole, Sweet, Vinny, Milo) before closing the doors again, leaving some rather irate crew members outside the doors.

            Past the gates, the first thought that entered Maria's mind was that this place was actually a courtyard of some sort. There wasn't a roof, letting the "sky" show through brightly, and the stone floor had a pool in the center and stepping stones circling in it, but none of them went over to the other side of the pool. Vines grew over everything, making the area look like it had been lying in disuse. The only thing that looked even somewhat used was a lean-to-like seat, where an old man was reclining.

            Maria's eyes moved over the old man quickly before looking around at the courtyard again. He wore an ornate blue and purple robe, and his face and hands were practically covered in sky blue tattoos. The oddest thing, though, was that his eyes were pure white. It made her wonder if the man was blind or just had a bad case of cataracts.

            The young woman stepped forward and bowed, saying something in Atlantean.

            Instantly, the old man responded in a rasping voice, laboring over each word like it was a pain to speak at all.

            The woman took a step back, but then seemed to stiffen up; she retaliated quickly, motioning with her arms as though she was trying to make a point.

            Maria found herself wishing that she could understand what they were saying.

            Near where she was standing, Milo himself took a step back, looking a little nervous because of what he was hearing. Lea had his arms crossed over his chest, simply watching the conversation with a poker face.

            Rourke, however, looked like he had just about had it with the language barrier. He started to walk forward, causing Milo to look at the man in alarm.

            "Uh, I don't think that's -"

            "Relax, Thatch," Rourke interrupted, glancing back. "I know royalty when I see it. I've got this." He moved his full attention to the old man and started, "Your Majesty, we're only humble travelers looking to study a piece of history..."

            Something in Maria blocked out the rest of the speech, but a sense of misgivings did not leave the teenager. She moved her gaze to the old man - who didn't react at all to being called "Your Majesty" - and watched him cautiously.

            The old Atlantean king - as he probably was - didn't seem to be too pleased by Rourke's statements concerning studying history.

            "You should not have come here," the king rasped stubbornly. "Go back to the surface world, where you belong."

            "Surely you wouldn't send us on our way without proper supplies!" Rourke replied, looking like he was trying to be as persuasive as possible. "We lost a large amount of supplies on our way down."

            The old Atlanean's head turned to look at the woman, and she said a couple words in a short, annoyed manner. Maria mentally translated this to mean the yellow rock that had housed the fireflies.

            "At least let us replenish our supplies and send us on our way," Rourke added. "It'll only take us a couple of days."

            The king didn't even take a second to consider what Rourke had said. Narrowing his eyes, he stated flatly, "One night. And then you are gone."

            "Thank you, Your Majesty," Milo said respectively, bowing low. He then started to back up towards the doors, never once taking his eyes off the Atlantean. The rest of the group, however, turned and started out of the courtyard with only the occasional glance back at the woman and the king.

            Maria and Lea would have been the last two out, but the king called out sharply in Atlantean, causing the door to be suddenly shut in their faces.

            "Hey!" Lea exclaimed. He turned and glared at the king. "What gives? We promised we'd leave tomorrow!"

            "Lea!" Maria exclaimed in response, aghast at his words. Giving his arm a light whap, she added, "Be nice to your elders!"

            Lea glared down at Maria. "He isn't my grandfather."

            "Still!"

            "Enough!" the king barked, getting Lea's and Maria's attention. Looking over at the woman, he rasped, "Go."

            "But Tabtop -" the woman started.

            "Go." The king glared at the woman with a great amount of force. After a moment, the young woman let out a reluctant sigh, then turned on a bare heel and disappeared from sight.

            Maria blinked as she watched her go. _Tabtop? Is that the king's name? No, wait -_ A momentary vision of subtitles on a TV appeared in Maria's head. _Oh, yeah. Father. Then that means..._

            "There is a reason that I requested the two of you stay behind," the king stated, turning to look at Maria and Lea. His voice jolted Maria out of her thoughts. "There is a surface dweller who has been spoken repeatedly of a pair such as yourselves and his need to meet with you."

            Maria and Lea exchanged glances, the former blinking in confusion.

            "You may have already passed him by, for as soon as I initially dismissed him from my presence, he disappeared from the sight of my guards and blended in with my city."

            "How would that be possible?" Maria asked. She quickly continued, not wanting to offend. "Not meaning to speak out against you, sir, but it's very rare to find a...surface-dweller with a...well, a complexion like your people's."

            The old king inclined his head. "It seems this child has such a complexion."

            Lea frowned, but a moment later a look of understanding came over his face. A smirk appeared there soon after. "I know exactly what you're talking about. Where do you think he would usually hang out?"

            "It has been reported to me that one of my subjects has taken to sleeping in the marketplace. It seems likely that you will find him there." The king reached for a bright blue crystal that hung around his neck, much like the one that had been on Kaz's - and the woman's (no, princess') - neck. "However, before you go and find your friend..."

            Something brushed up against her mind, and Maria felt as though time had suddenly stopped. All of her muscles stiffened, and Maria saw, out of the corner of her eye, that the same had happened with Lea.

            Something directed Maria to hold out her right hand, and she did so without question, but something buzzed at the back of her mind with curiosity and annoyance.

            The buzzing stopped short, however, when a bright flash encompassed Maria's right hand, instantly, her muscle control returned to her, and Maria shielded her eyes with her left hand while her legs suddenly gave out from under her. The flash faded as quickly as it had come, and Maria found that her right hand was gripping something tightly. Curious, she looked over at it, only for her eyes to widen a moment later.

            Cautiously, Maria got to her feet, looking over the red staff with something akin to awe. She touched the head of the phoenix at the top with a couple fingers on her left hand just to make sure that it was actually real. She felt unnerved by what had happened, however, and it felt as though her knees were knocking together.

            "OK, how did you do that?" Lea demanded, waving his Keyblade at the king.

            The Atlantean did not change his expression. "There are many things that you have yet to learn, Keyblade wielder. However, they are not my secrets to tell. Now, go. You have a friend to find."

            Maria and Lea looked at each other for a moment, then started out of the courtyard as the doors opened behind them. Neither one of them once looked away from the Atlantean king.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this whole thing with the Atlanteans planned that they were part of the first round of Keyblade users, or the crystal that powers their whole civilization has had connections to them before.
> 
> And then there's Maria and her sister, who are entirely different ball games in and of themselves. What they are will be revealed by the end of this first story in the series, I'll tell you that.


	15. Riku!

            The marketplace of the city of Atlantis was pretty much an ancient version of a farmer's market, Maria realized when they reached that area of the city. One of the palace guards had been kind enough to give directions to the pair of surface-dwellers, and now Maria and Lea were walking through the area.

            "This is getting to be ridiculous," Lea muttered in annoyance. "How is it that Riku managed to blend in with these guys if he doesn't know the language?" He absently fingered his Keyblade, which he was now carrying at his waist. "Even worse, I can't blend in!"

            "Do you think he did that on purpose?" Maria asked. She had switched the staff from her right hand to her left, so that her dominant hand could remain free. "I mean, I didn't know I actually had a weapon that wasn't pure fire."

            "I wouldn't be fawning over it, if I were you. Who knows what he did to us." Lea eyed Maria's new staff suspiciously. "Even if he asked us to stay, I think I'd leave within the hour."

            "I think, if we just avoid running into any royalty, we'll be fine," Maria replied absently as he eyes scanned the crowd of Atlanteans. "Think calling out Riku's name will get him to come in our direction?"

            Lea froze, then looked over at Maria. "Since when did you know his name was Riku?"

            "Remember my vision problem?" Maria replied, her gaze not moving from the Altanteans.

            "Liz didn't say anything about visions," a voice spoke up from behind them.

            Maria and Lea turned at once, only for Maria's eyes to widen. Lea, however, smirked.

            "About time you showed up," Lea remarked. "When the king mentioned you were hanging around -"

            "I figured you would be looking for me when I saw the others from your camp start showing up," a silver-haired teen replied, motioning to a stall nearby. A certain cook was starting to lift up his shirt to show off to a tattoo artist, causing Maria to wisely turn her attention fully to Riku.

            "You mentioned my sister," Maria noted, a concerned look coming over her face. "Is she all right? Malificent hasn't -"

            "Liz is fine," Riku stated. "Leon and Yuffie found her in Radiant Garden, demanding that she find Sora so that she could come and rescue you."

            "Radiant Garden?" Lea frowned. "How did she get there?"

            "Some sort of portal magic. She used it to reach Mysterious Tower, and she was still there when I left."

            Maria let out a sigh of relief. "Good. She's safe."

            "Now, what was that about visions?" Riku raised an eyebrow.

            Maria gave a sheepish smile. "It's kinda got something to do with where Liz and I come from. The events of this world were turned into a movie in my world, so I know what happens already. At least, I should - it's like the knowledge has been blocked off or something and only comes back in short bursts - visions."

            Riku blinked, then nodded slightly. "I see." His eyes went over the staff and Keyblade. "The king worked his magic on you two."

            Lea nodded, a sour look appearing on his face. "Yeah. He even knew that I used a Keyblade! Do you have any idea as how he did that?"

            "It could have something to do with the crystals everyone is wearing," Riku explained. "As soon as they brought me here, I could tell there was something different about this place."

            Maria blinked. "Can you...sense magic or something?"

            "Maybe. It could have something to do with my new title as a Master." Riku absently touched the hilt of his own Keyblade - which, like Lea's, was hanging from his side. "It makes me wonder how much the king knows. I've been trying to find his daughter, but it's been...difficult."

            "His daughter?" Lea looked incredulous. "How old would she be? I bet she's as wrinkled as he is!"

            Maria frowned, and opened her mouth before a headache suddenly racked her head.

            Squeezing her eyes shut, she let out a hiss of pain as more visions slipped through her mind. _Milo and the young woman, interacting in front of some sort of fish - climbing a statue - going through a marketplace._

            Maria's eyes snapped open. "Lea, remember that girl who greeted us as soon as we got down here?"

            Lea blinked. "Yeah. Why?"

            "She's the princess, and she and Milo should be wandering around here somewhere."

            Lea blinked, but before he could respond to this statement, someone called out, "There! Riku!"

            The silver-haired teen turned his head. "Your visions seem to be accurate," he remarked, raising his hand in a wave. "Hello, Kidagakash."

            The man next to the Atlantean - who just so happened to be Milo - sagged in defeat. "How is it that you can pronounce her name and I can't?"

            "I've heard stranger names." Riku looked over at Maria and Lea. "Maria, Lea, this is Princess Kidagakash."

            "Kida, please," the Atlantean stated, smiling.

            Riku returned his gaze to Kida, gave a nod, then added, "These two are Maria and Lea."

            "We met back in the camp, before everything got set on fire," Maria stated with a half-smile. "I didn't get to introduce myself, though."

            "That is fine," Kida replied with a smile and a nod.

            Milo gave Maria an incredulous look. "You met her in camp?"

            "I had to warn someone about what was going to happen to your camp," Kida replied, looking over at Milo. "She saw me."

            Maria grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "I'm a bit of a light sleeper sometimes. Something woke me up."

            "Have you seen the city yet?" Riku asked.

            Lea shook his head. "We only just got away from the king." He tapped his Keyblade as though it was proof enough.

            "We only got to see parts of the city as we came through," Maria added.

            The Atlantean grabbed Maria's right arm and Lea's left. "Come! I will show you!" She started off at a fast pace into the crowd, Maria and Lea running so that they could keep their feet on the ground. Milo and Riku followed after them.

            Kida led the group through the marketplace, pointing out shops: this one sold the purple lobsters they fished for; that one sold trinkets that could be worn on the wrist and ankle. Maria managed to get a good look at the bracelets and wondered if she could come back later and figure out how she could get one to remember the trip.

            The group was soon led down from the marketplace to the edge of the city, where Kida led them on a grand tour of the fishing spots. They ended up in a forest outside of the palace, where Milo requested that they halt for a breather.

            The linguist let out a sigh and collapsed onto a rock, his body sagging in relief. "I am not used to walking around at that pace."

            "I'm actually surprised that I managed to keep up," Maria remarked.

            "Well, we've been working on your ability," Lea pointed out. "That could have something to do with it."

            Maria frowned slightly, then gave a nod in agreement. "Yeah, that could be it."

            "Ability?" Kida asked, frowning.

            "Maria and Lea are...different," Milo stated, frowning as he tried to think of a way to explain the situation.

            "We can throw fire around," Lea stated with a shrug. "Nothing that's really unusual from where I come from."

            Riku gave Maria a curious look, and she shrugged before letting her fire crawl out and curl up her arm; the flames dissipated a moment later, leaving the Atlantean present with wide eyes.

            "No one else can do that?" Kida asked, looking over at Milo.

            The linguist shook his head. "They're the only two who can do it, as far as I know."

            "I prefer it that way," Lea stated coolly.

            Maria glanced back, then sat down on the rock that was behind her. Her gaze soon caught sight of something that was located near a rocky outcropping.

            "What is that?" Maria asked, raising an eyebrow as she motioned with her staff in the direction of a dark form at the base of the short cliff. "It looks like some sort of fish."

            Kida and Milo exchanged glances, a humored smile sneaking onto the former's face.

            "It's some sort of flying machine," Milo explained. "I figured out how to turn it on, but..." He motioned to where it lay next to the cliff.

            Maria blinked, then flinched as another vision slipped into her mind: _Did you make a half turn right? - Yes, I did that - Did you keep your hand on the pad? - Yes, yes - Did you make a quarter turn left? - ...-_

            Maria shook her head as her vision cleared up, turning the sudden game of fish ping-pong into the quiet forest she was in now. "Weird. Getting visions didn't cause pain like that before..." She looked over at the staff. "Maybe it's got something to do with what the king did."

            "You mean...you saw what happened?" Kida asked. "How?"

            Maria smiled nervously and rubbed the back of her head. "It has something to do with who I am. Before I ended up...well, coming down here, I knew something of the future. But that all ended up getting blocked off somehow, so now all I get are little snippets of what I already know. It's kind of weird, remembering things like I am right now."

            She looked down at her hands for a moment, then clenched her left hand more tightly around her staff as the other clenched into a fist. "Hopefully, I can remember something before something big happens that could cause problems."

            "What makes you think we're going to have problems?" Riku asked.

            "Call it...intuition," Maria replied. "Things have been going way too easy here. You'd think something would have happened by now just because surface dwellers have slipped in from the tunnels outside of this place." Maria looked over at Lea. "That dormant volcano-thing Mole mentioned could become a problem."

            Lea frowned. "You think so?"

            Maria shrugged. "You never know."

            Riku blinked as he gave Maria a curious expression, but he said nothing.

            In the distance, there came a call from what sounded like a horn, and Kida broke into a grin immediately.

            "The evening meal is ready," she explained to the rest of the group while she grabbed Milo's arm. "Come! You will eat in the palace tonight!" With that, the princess took off with Milo in tow. Maria, Riku, and Lea followed after the pair.

            "You do realize that I came here only to take you home," Riku told Maria as they went.

            Maria looked over at Riku with a surprised expression that turned into a disappointed one. "I can't leave now! If I did, the king would probably think I stayed behind when everybody else left. Can't we at least wait until tomorrow?"

            "I don't want to keep your sister waiting," Riku pointed out. "She seemed pretty worried about you."

            "And I can understand that," Maria replied. "But I can't leave now. Like I said before, I can tell that something big is going to happen. I have to be here to help - I owe the people here that much."

            Riku opened his mouth to speak again as the group reached the palace, but then paused as he eyed Maria.

            After a moment, he gave a nod. "Very well. But we're leaving as soon as this event you seem to be so certain on is over."

            Maria's face broke out into a grin. "Thanks."


	16. vs. Scroop the Sicko

            "Gentlemen," Amelia murmured with a grimace, "we must stay together and..."

            She let out a groan as another wave of pain coursed through her. The captain shuddered in response, looking like she was sick.

            "And what?" Doppler demanded, leaning forward so that he could hear her next words better. "We must stay together and what?"

            Amelia looked up at the doctor with a rather dreamy look, an expression that was not expected on the face of any war-battered ship captain.

            "Doctor, you have beautiful eyes," she murmured deliriously.

            Doppler looked over at Jim, Liz, Sora, Kairi, and B.E.N. in shock.

            "She's lost her mind!" he exclaimed in a panic.

            "Well, you've gotta help her," Sora pointed out. "You can, right?"

            "Dang it, Sora, I'm an astronomer, not a doctor!" the dog replied in a bark. "At least, I am a doctor, but not that kind of doctor. I have a doctorate, which is not the same thing. You can't help people with a doctorate. You just sit there, helpless."

            He let out a sigh, letting his hands flop against the section of the floor he was kneeling on.

            "It's okay, Doc," Jim replied carelessly, patting Doppler on the back as he walked by.

            Kairi open her mouth to add something, but B.E.N. got to her first.

            "Don't worry, Doc!" the robot exclaimed. "Jimmy knows exactly how to get out of this. It's just that Jimmy...uh...has this knowledge of things." He looked over at Jim, who had been pacing around in circles with Liz. "So, Jim, what's the plan?"

            "Without the map, we're dead," Jim stated in an annoyed tone, looking over at the robot.

            "And if we try to leave, we're dead," Liz continued in frustration as she motioned to the front door as she passed it.

            "And if we stay -" Jim added.

            "We're dead!" Morph exclaimed from next to Kairi. "We're dead we're dead we're dead!"

            B.E.N. looked a little nervous at what Jim and Liz had just said. "Well...I think that Jimmy needs some quiet time." The robot chuckled nervously as he started to back up towards the more shadowy part of his home. "I think I'll just slip out the back door."

            "Back door?" Sora repeated, looking over at the robot in confusion. Liz and Jim stopped pacing and looked in that direction, as well.

            "Oh, yeah," B.E.N. replied with a vigorous nod as he rolled a stone back and revealed a hole in the floor. All the kids started to gather around to have a better look at this "back door". "I get this delightful breeze through here, which I think is important, because ventilation among friends -"

            "What is all this stuff?" Kairi asked as she peers down the hole. "And why is it in a planet?"

            "You mean the miles and miles of machinery that go through this entire planet?" B.E.N. guessed. "No clue!"

            "Doc, I think we have our way out of here," Liz stated with a grin, looking back at Doppler.

            Doppler looked a little worried. "No, don't! The Captain told us to stay together!" He motioned frantically to Amelia, who looked like she had passed out from the pain.

            "And we will," Jim replied with a determined expression. He started to climb onto the lip of the opening. Morph followed Jim up eagerly. "I'll go with Sora, and Liz and Kairi can stay here and keep an eye on you guys."

            He looked over at Sora, nodded, then jumped down into the tunnel. The mini shifter quickly followed, squealing with delight as gravity took over.

            "We'll be back!" Sora added as he quickly jumped into the opening.

            "Cannonball!" B.E.N. called as the rest jumped in after him.

            Doppler sighed in defeat. "Woof."

            Liz glared down through the tunnel, then looked over at Kairi. "I can't believe that he out me off like that!" She started to get onto the lip of the entrance.

            "You're going to go after them?" Kairi asked, a small smile playing on her lips.

            Liz gave a determined nod. "I'm not planning on waiting around."

            "Get going, then! Who knows where they are now?"

            Liz gave another nod, then jumped into the tunnel and out of sight of the figures in B.E.N.'s home.

            It was easy to find Jim and the other two because of B.E.N.'s loud, clanging footsteps that echoed in the metal tunnels. His voice was also equally loud, and Liz wondered if Jim was getting ready to tell the robot to be quiet.

            "So, what's going on in the rest of the universe?" B.E.N. asked as Liz turned a bend in the tunnel and nearly ran into the back of the robot.

            "Well - Liz!" Jim moved his gaze sharply to the girl.

            "Liz is going on?" the robot asked, frowning. The robot was ignored.

            "I thought I said to stay behind!" Jim continued.

            "Like I'm going to do that when you could need help against Heartless!" Liz argued, her sword materializing in her hand as she said the words. "Besides, I want to see Silver get as much of a beating as you do."

            Sora looked startled by this sudden outburst, but Jim kept his face a mask.

            "So I'm coming whether you like it or not," Liz added stubbornly.

            Jim let out an annoyed groan. "All right, fine. Now come on - I don't think we have much further to go."

            **Time Break**

            "And the exit you're looking for should be riiight about -"

            There was the sound of something groaning in the middle of the reed-like forest, and a stone that had appeared to be rather solid suddenly rolled back, letting the three humans, the small shifter, and the robot pop out of a hole in the ground.

            "And here we -"

            Jim slapped a hand over B.E.N.'s open mouth and shushed him. "Remember what you promised when we first met you."

            The robot nodded his head, and Jim removed his hand. B.E.N. then added in a whisper, "Right. Shutting up."

            The group climbed out of the hole, B.E.N. closing it up behind them.

            They then slipped around behind trees as they approached the flicking light of a fire. It wasn't long before the group was peering through a thick clump of reeds at the collection of sleeping figures.

            Liz made a face at the horrendously loud snoring of one of the pirates. "You'd think they'd have stuck it to him at this point," she muttered, looking over at Sora. "You know, to get him to wake up so that he could stop snoring."

            The Keyblade user nodded in agreement. "Or, at least, put a sock in his mouth."

            B.E.N. looked at Jim. "So, what's the plan?" he asked a little louder than he probably should have, considering their close proximity to the camp.

            "Shh, B.E.N., be quiet," Jim hissed in return. When the robot had covered his mouth with his rusting hands, the boy whispered, "O.K., here it is: we sneak back to the Legacy, disable the laser cannons, and bring back the map before they notice."

            "That's a good plan," B.E.N. said through his fingers.

            Sora nodded in agreement. "Only thing is, how are we going to get up there?" he pointed up at the ship, which was floating above their heads without anything anchoring it to the planet except for gravity.

            "On that," Jim replied, pointing to the skiff the pirates had used to get down to the planet.

            The group quickly snuck around the pirates in the camp, careful not to step on the strange, flatulent slug when he suddenly rolled into their path. The group quickly got into the skiff, which Jim skillfully piloted up to the ship.

            Morph, who was riding on Sora's shoulder, let out a shudder as they approached the deck of the ship. The small creature let out a nervous chitter.

            "Relax," Sora told the pink blob. "All the pirates are down there, so the ship's deserted."

            Morph still looked uneasy, but he made a movement that looked like nodding.

            Jim landed the longboat on the deck, then led the group down into the lower decks of the ship.

            When they reached a corridor near the engine, Jim stopped and looked at the rest of the group.

            "All right. You two," Jim pointed at B.E.N. and Liz, "wait here. Sora and I will go get he map."

            The rusting robot saluted. "Rodger! I'll go neutralize the laser cannons sir!" He promptly skipped off, humming, "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!"

            Liz desperately wanted to commit a facepalm because of his antics. She ended up settling for rubbing her temples with a look of exasperation.

            "B.E.N!" Sora called after him. "B.E.N.!" He looked over at Liz and Jim. "I've got a bad feeling about that robot. One of us should go after him to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

            Jim nodded in agreement. "I would, but I've got to go after the map because I know where Morph hid it."

            "I know where he hid it, too," Liz pointed out stubbornly.

            Sora gained a thoughtful expression. "I'll keep an eye on B.E.N.; Jim, you take Liz and go get the map. There are probably some Heartless on board, meaning that they'll start looking for you the instant you're unprotected."

            Jim frowned. "I don't know..."

            "Relax, Jim," Liz stated. "I can hold my own against those things, remember? Let's just get the map and get off the ship before the pirates wake up and see their boat's gone."

            Jim blinked, raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "All right. Let's go."

            Sora nodded, then ran off in the direction B.E.N. had gone, leaving Jim and Liz to make their way to the dock that Morph had left the map at. The shifter himself disappeared from sight.

            A few minutes later, a loud alarm went off, causing the two to freeze in their tracks.

            "Bad B.E.N., bad!" Jim muttered under her breath. "That robot's going to get us all killed!"

            "Cabin boy," a familiar voice hissed from somewhere nearby.

            Jim looked up upon hearing the voice and let out a yell of surprise.

            This caused Liz to quickly glance up, then push Jim and herself out of the way as Scroop slammed down onto the metal walkway, followed by a small group of Heartless that looked almost like him.

            Liz materialized her weapon and held her sword out in front of her, watching the alien pirate cautiously. "Jim, go! I'll take care of this guy!" She started to bring back her sword and start forward for an attack, but the movement was disrupted when the ship suddenly tilted underneath them; the pirate, teenagers, and Heartless were slammed into a nearby wall.

            Liz gritted her teeth in annoyance. "Really, B.E.N.?"

            Jim reached our and grabbed her arm. "Come on - while he's still down."

            Jim and Liz moved away quickly from Scroop and started to run down the walkway towards the dock. Behind them, Scroop got to his feet and started after them on his spider-legs, hissing as the Heartless followed after the teenagers.

            Around them, the boat creaked and complained from one thing or another.

            "This way!" Jim called out, leading Liz down another corridor.

            The pair entered the docking bay that Morph had hid the map in...

            ...but the area was crowded with Heartless.

            Liz let out a growl of annoyance, her right hand quickly adjusting its grip on her sword. She wasn't going to be able to take them all out without being in danger of getting her own heart torn out - and who knew how that was going to work, considering where she came from.

            Something within her started to well up, giving her an energy surge. At the same time, the curved blade of her sword started to glow a bright blue.

            With a yell, Liz struck out, swinging the sword into the first group of Heartless that started to come near.

            An instant later, a wave of blue energy lashed out into the Heartless, eating through the dark creatures and taking out a decent amount of them.

            When Liz saw this, she took instant advantage and attacked the remaining Heartless, tearing them apart mercilessly until there wasn't a shred of darkness left in the docking bay.

            "Whoa," Jim remarked. "How did you -"

            "Just get the map so that we can get out of here," Liz stated pointedly, panting from exertion. "And I don't know."

            "Raar!" Scroop roared as he leapt at the two from behind, his claws open wide.

            Liz turned swiftly in response to the call and slashed at the wooden beam above the black and red crab-alien. A blast of blue energy sliced the beam easily, sending it falling on top of the alien. At the same time, it ripped open a hole in the deck above them.

            "Hurry!" Liz barked back at Jim.

            "I've got it already!" Jim replied, coming over and showing her the bronze sphere they had been trying to find. "Now let's get out of here."

            The two of them scrambled up the fallen beam and through the hole in the deck. As soon as they'd managed to get clear of the beam, however, Scroop broke free of where he had been buried and climbed up after them.

            "Raar!" Scroop repeated as he ran after the two teenagers.

            As soon as the exclamation had left his mouth, however, the trio suddenly began to float away from the deck.

            The artificial gravity had been cut off.

            Jim let out a growl of annoyance. "B.E.N..."

            The two teenagers tried to grab hold of something to anchor them, but the closest thing was the main mast, and already they were near the pirate flag that still waved at the top.

            "Heh heh heh," Scroop chuckled, floating between them and the mast. "Do say hello to Mr. Arrow for me, will you?" He started to reach out with a claw, ready to push Liz and Jim the last few feet out into space.

            Liz's eyes narrowed. "So it wasn't Jim's fault that the first mate went overboard!"

            Scroop chuckled again. "Who else would have had the guts?"

            "Why don't you tell Mr. Arrow yourself!" Jim suddenly yelled out.

            He then slammed into Scroop, forcing him into the pirate flag.

            Thanks to the pirate's sudden change in direction - as well as his weight - the ropes holding the flag in place snapped, and Scroop was hurled out into space, screaming curses at Liz and Jim.

            "Sheesh, what a potty mouth," Liz remarked, a look of disgust coming over her face.

            Jim shrugged. "He's a sailor; what do you expect?"

            Below them, there came the sudden thrum of engines, and the whole deck was covered in a wash of energy. Liz and Jim soon found themselves pulled back down towards the ship, landing on their hands and feet in the crow's nest.

            Mere seconds later, a pipe that opened up in the crow's nest started to rattle, and a black plume of smoke came out, coughing and hacking as it slowly turned pink.

            "Morph?" Liz asked tiredly. "What were you doing in there?"

            The little shifter chittered tiredly before nuzzling into the girl's neck; it felt like a cold jello was sliding all over her skin, but Liz appreciated the affection from the little blob.

            "Laser cannons disconnected, Captain Jimmy-sir!" came a familiar voice from below.

            Liz and Jim looked at each other, then peered over the edge of the crow's nest, only to see B.E.N. and Sora standing on the stairs that led to the lower deck. Both were grinning and saluting the two in the crow's nest; wrapped around their arms and legs - and even Sora's head - were lengths of wire that were still spitting electricity.

            "It wasn't so hard," Sora added with a laugh.

            Liz laughed in agreement. "I guess not." She looked over at Jim. "Let's get back down to the surface. We've got a treasure to find."

            Jim nodded in agreement, then made a quick motion with one hand. "Ladies first."


	17. Yobmok

            Maria let out a sigh of relief as she settled into her makeshift hammock - a good use for the tarp that had once been her tent in camp. After borrowing a rope from a kind Atlantean, the teenager was delighted to be able to find a place to rest.

            Exploring Atlantis had taken a lot out of her, and the food they had eaten - exotic and strange though it was - was making her sleepy from the full stomach. After all, when you've been spending who knows how long eating from a can, any kind of fully-cooked, fresh meal was good enough.

            So a nap wasn't too far from this particular teenager's mind.

            While Maria was making herself comfortable, Milo and Kida were conversing by a body of water, not unlike a small swimming pool. Lea and Riku were off elsewhere, most likely on a hunt for Dream Eaters while the Master tried to figure out want exactly it was that his pupil had learned.

            The teen smiled at the memory of the spar the two had participated in, with no one but the Atlantean guards, Milo, and Kida watching.

            The rest of the crew had disappeared before the spar for some reason, but Maria wasn't too worried - they were probably making sure that everything was in order before they left.

            Absently, she fingered her staff, wondering what would happen if she had participated in a spar. A moment later, she put it off, deciding that she would have ended up knocked out almost immediately.

            "It's hard to believe that these little guys can be so destructive," came Milo's voice.           

            Maria's ear twitched, and she realized a moment later that he was talking about the fireflies that were flickering on and off around the pool, there soft glow giving the area almost a summer-like evening setting.

            Again, something at the back of her mind tickled her thoughts told her that she shouldn't let her guard down.

            The teen shook her head in response to the thought and, closing her eyes, let out a sigh and sunk deeper into the makeshift hammock.

            Almost instantly, a loud noise akin to a raspberry echoed around the area, intermingling with Kida's giggling.

            Curious, Maria turned and opened one eye, only to just catch sight of Milo and Kida diving into the pool and out of sight.

            Maria smiled lazily as she watched the ripples in the pool. Then she closed her eyes and fell into the slumber she had been wanting since dinner.

            _Now this is what I might call a vacation._

**Dream Break**

_Maria opened her eyes, only for the teen to frown in confusion at where she found herself._

_Cautiously, she got to her feet as she looked around at the strange landscape. It looked like the Atlantis marketplace, only everything seemed to be a different shade of blue, and the entire square was empty. Like Maria's eyes had become colorblind - which she knew they probably hadn't._

_"Hello?" Maria called out. She held her staff in both hands, looking around for someone - or something - to show themselves._

**"You need not be afraid, Maria Carlsdale. There is nothing here that will harm you."**

_Maria felt chills travel up and down her spine upon hearing the voice echo around her, especially since it knew her last name. She hadn't told anyone it during her time in this world!_

_And yet...something told her she could trust the voice. Slowly, reluctantly, Maria forced herself to relax, moving the staff to her right hand._

_"How would you know?" Maria asked, her voice coming out slightly panicked. "And how do you know who I am?"_

**"I created this dreamscape so that we may talk. There are some things I wish to discuss with you. As for how I know who you are...there are many things which I know of you and the others from the surface."**

_"Uh..."_

_Maria felt a little uneasy with what the voice was suggesting concerning conversation. And the answer it gave about knowing who she was wasn't much of an answer, either._

_"Um...okay? Do you think I can talk to you face-to-face? It would make me a bit more comfortable with all this." She motioned to the area around her._

**"Very well."**

_Maria looked around for a moment, then took note of a soft glow a distance away from her. Slowly, the glow increased as something - no, someone - approached her._

_When the figure came close enough for Maria to see who it was, she instantly felt recognition run through her as a vision flickered to life in her mind._ \- A giant wave coming towards a prosperous city - red becoming blue - a still-seeing king hiding the gaze of a young daughter from the bright blue flash high above their heads -

_"You're...the queen of Atlantis," Maria noted in awe. After a moment, she blinked, then corrected herself. "No, wait - you disappeared into that blue light that I remember -"_

            **"The Mother Crystal,"** _the woman corrected kindly._ **"And yes, that is correct. However, I came here at her behest to speak with you on a certain matter."**

_"What is it?" Maria asked, feeling more open now that she was speaking with someone she recognized._

**"It concerns your allies, the two young ones who have access to legendary weapons. It also concerns yourself."**

            _Maria blinked. "Me, Lea and Riku? What do we have to do with anything?" She frowned hesitantly. "It doesn't have anything to so with what the king did, does it?"_

**"It does. Your weapons were designed by the very power which gave us our protection - the Keyblades, as you call them, have more connections in the city of Atlantis than your two allies have yet to realize. Your own weapon, as well, holds a part of its origins here. A man who found his way down here carried such a weapon."**

_"You mean the guy who wrote the book Milo carries around?" Maria asked. When the queen nodded, Maria gained a thoughtful frown. "That's...really weird." She looked over at her own staff, then back at the queen. "But the staff and the swords aren't connected, are they?"_

**"No. The Keyblades were created to protect worlds. The staffs were created to travel between worlds."**

            _"Staffs? You mean there's more?" Maria's eyebrows shot up in surprise._

            **"Indeed."** _The queen looked like she would have said more, but something gave her pause._ **"Someone approaches. I cannot stay here for much longer, as I need to return to the Mother Crystal. I find it likely, however, that you will see me again."**

_Maria opened her mouth to respond, but a wave of exhaustion washed over her, and she closed her eyes..._

**Dream Break**

            As soon as Maria had closed her eyes - or at least, it felt as such - she was pushed out of the hammock and onto the ground. The teen was up on her feet just as quickly, her glasses askew and bent from her fall, an annoyed and rather grumpy look on her face as she gripped her staff tightly in both hands.

            "There are better ways to wake someone up," she hissed as she pointed her staff at the man in front of her, despite the fact that there was a gun being pointed in her face. The teen wasn't feeling too nice because of the sudden wake-up call. "Do that again and you'll pay for it, Rourke."

            The mentioned man let out a laugh, the gun in his hand not moving even as he threw back his head. "And how are you going to make me pay, little lady? In case you haven't noticed, you're outnumbered." He motioned to the crew members wearing gas masks. They had the pair surrounded, their guns pointed at Maria. "Now, be a good girl and tell me where our friends are."

            "Our friends?" Maria repeated. "I wouldn't consider all this," she motioned to the guns with a glare, "being friendly." She returned her glare to the man in front of her. "Besides, we all split after dinner, remember? I came here to get a nap."

            She eyed the hammock meaningfully, the reused tarp now lying on the ground underneath Rourke's boots.

            "Not the answer I was looking for," Rourke growled in response. He brought the gun closer to Maria's head. "We already found the two boys you seem to like so much. Now, where are Thatch and the princess?"

            Maria's eyes narrowed, and she did her best to calmly adjust her glasses so that she could see at least somewhat without everything having a fuzzy edge. Eyeing the guns again - and figuring that she wouldn't be able to burn through the weapons before getting fired at - she wondered if she had enough courage to dare to not say anything about where Milo and Kida were at.

            "Kid, I'm not going to kill you, if that's what you're thinking," Rourke suddenly spoke up. "But I would be worried about your two friends." He stepped aside, revealing Lea and Riku, looking a little worse for the wear and glaring at either Rourke or one of the crew members with the gas mask.

            "Look, I'm not scared of you, elephant face," Lea growled. "And I'd be glad to prove it -"

            Riku elbowed the taller Keyblade user. "These aren't Dream Eaters, Lea."

            The redhead snorted. "Yeah, yeah."

            Guns were clicked and aimed at the boys' heads.

            "But you do know that this is getting on my nerves," Lea continued, glaring at the weapons.

            "Get in line," the silver-haired boy replied dryly.

            Now Maria was having a rather hard time making her decision. She took a cautious step back and glanced toward the pool behind her, but didn't see either Milo or Kida anywhere in sight; even their clothes were still lying at the edge of the pool.

            Rourke followed the teenager's gaze, then gave a sly smile. "Ah. I see." He walked past Maria - who instantly realized the mistake she had made. "Come on, boys. Get into your positions. And see if you can actually separate the girl from that new weapon of hers."

            Someone grabbed Maria from behind as other members of the crew split up and went around the pool. Another man with a gas mask tried to grab Maria's staff, but the teen tightened her grip and brought her firepower up in arms. Flames licked across her shoulders and down her arms, causing the hands to be very quickly removed.

            "The boys may have rules against harming humans, but I have no qualms in giving you idiots third-degree burns," Maria snapped shortly, glaring at the crew members that surrounded her.

            "Harsh," came a familiar voice from behind her. "And to think - I let you ride in the back of my truck."

            Maria felt her blood freeze, and she turned to see who had been holding her from behind. "Audrey? What are you doing?"

            "Getting what I came for, that's what," the Spanish mechanic replied shortly, slapping out the fire that had sprouted on her gloves. After putting back on the singed gloves, she pushed Maria in the back. "Now get moving. You're definitely not getting out of my sight."

            Maria let out a hiss as she stumbled forward on the rocky, root-covered ground before coming out on the tile surrounding the pool. "All of you are fools, bringing a sword to a gun fight."

            Lea and Riku exchanged glances, then looked back at Maria with curious expressions on their faces.

            "What are you talking about?" Vinny asked, tossing a dynamite stick from on hand to the other. "We're the ones with the guns."

            "Yeah, well, there are some things about this place that could turn you into ash," Maria retorted stiffly.

            She didn't know what brought on this response, but she knew it had something to do with what Kida's mother had mentioned in the temporary dreamscape. If these people knew who created the Keyblades, who knew what else they had contact with?

            And what about the "Mother Crystal" she had mentioned?

            Suddenly, there was a large splash of water from the pool as Kida and Milo resurfaced, gasping for air. Both looked excited...until they saw the guns that were being pointed at them, Riku, Lea, and Maria.

            Milo looked around in shock. "Audrey? Sweet? Vinny? Mole? What are you guys doing?" He sounded panicked an confused while the crew members that had been named either tightened their grip on the weapons they were holding...or attempted to grip Maria's shoulders, only to quickly pull away their hands when said shoulders burst into flames.

            Kida wasn't so level-headed. Clearly scared out of her wits, she scrambled out of the pool and ran for the exit, only to be grabbed by a pair of crew members wearing gas masks. The princess let out a cry of pain at their tight grip on her arms right before the two men practically collapsed on top of her.

            "Don't hurt her!" Milo exclaimed in a panic, scrambling out of the pool and starting for Kida. Rourke moved into his path calmly and quickly, however, the gun pointed directly at Milo's nose.

            "Don't worry," Rourke stated calmly. "We're not going to do anything to her. The princess is our ticket to that crystal of theirs, after all." He motioned to the men, and they forced Kida to her feet.

            Milo's eyes widened, and he blinked in confusion. "What?"

            Maria's eyes narrowed. "Not good," she muttered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Audrey give her a curious look, but the mechanic said nothing.

            Rourke reached into a chest pocket and removed a browning piece of paper, which he promptly unfurled and showed to Milo. Maria, even though she couldn't see it from where she was standing, instantly got a clear picture of what it was Rourke was showing the linguist: a shining sphere surrounded by floating chunks of rock of different sizes.

            Milo frowned upon seeing the paper Rourke was holding. "So that's where the missing page went," the linguist muttered. He glared at Rourke. "How did you -"

            The man shrugged. "He never really noticed a difference in the book after I took it out." He waved the paper in front of Milo's nose. "Now, translate it, before I send a bullet through your girl's head."

            He made a motion to one of the men who was holding onto Kida. The crew member instantly took a shotgun and placed the business end next to Kida's left temple. There was click as the weapon was made ready to fire.

            Kida's gaze went around the area, her eyes wide because of the sudden change of events. Her gaze landed on Maria and the two Keyblade wielders, and an unidentifiable expression appeared in them.

            Maria wasn't sure what it meant, but she decided that it might be best if she responded in her own way. Her left hand formed a fist, and she slammed it into her ow chest with a thump.

            Kida's eyes widened further, and she gave what might have been a nod were it not for the gun at her head.

            "So, are you going to or not?" Rourke asked, eyeing Milo calmly. "There could be untold riches awaiting you."

            Milo gave Rourke a glare. "This thing is their life source," he shortly, motioning to the page. "Take that away, and they will die."

            Rourke, instead of dropping the whole subject of going after the crystal, became extremely interested.

            "Well, that could easily double the price," he remarked, turning to look at Helga, who was standing casually behind him.

            "I'd make it triple," Helga commented, a sly, greedy smile appearing on her face.

Maria's head turned sharply from Kida, and she glared at the two. "You guys are mercenaries. You'd been bribed long before Whitmore found you for the expedition, weren't you?"

            "No, we weren't," Rourke responded calmly, giving a shake of his head. "We just want something out of all of this. Milo wanted something too, didn't you, boy?" He looked over at the linguist with a triumphant look on his face.

            "I was expecting to find a few clay pots or something like that down here," Milo admitted, "but now that I see there's an actual living culture down here, I can't just take away their lifesource from them." Straightening up and puffing his chest out, he added, "And you can't make me."

            Rourke, looked over in the direction of the Atlantean princess. "Does that mean you don't care for the your precious princess?"

            Milo's eyes widened as he realized his mistake in his last statement. "No, no, that doesn't mean that."

            "Then make your choice, son," Rourke growled, looking back at the linguist. "Either the both of you live, or she dies."

            Maria looked over at Riku and Lea, who were keeping their emotions hidden underneath determined expressions. Maria herself was feeling very agitated, and she felt like she wanted to do something to stop Rourke and rescue Kida. But she couldn't very well do that if there were guns being pointed at her!

            "All right," Milo sighed, jolting Maria out of her thoughts. He held out his hand, and Rourke gave the page to him, a sinister smile appearing on his face.

            "You're doing the right thing," Rourke stated.

            Maria gave Rourke a dark look and considered yelling that he wasn't, but then she caught sight of a multicolored form on the other side of the pool.

            Maria's eyes widened, and she quickly raised her voice: "Lea! Riku! I see Dream Eaters!"

            Riku and Lea looked over at Maria, then across the pool. A moment later, the two had leapt across the pool, Keyblades in hand and ready to start slashing.

            Rourke, who had turned sharply upon hearing Maria's voice, caught sight of the Dream Eaters himself.

            The commander's eyes widened in shock. "Gets rid of those things!"

            "Your weapons will do no good," Riku called back.

            "Maria! Get over here!" Lea added.

            "Right!"

            Maria took off around the pool at a run, bringing back her staff for a swing at the Dream Eaters - which, this time, looked a lot like bulbous-eyed fish.

            When Maria's staff connected with the first Dream Eater, she heard Kida yell something in Atlantean, clearly terrified. Maria turned her head, only to see Milo now standing close to her, trying to get the princess to calm down.

            One of the fish got too close to Maria's face for comfort, bringing her attention back to the fight. The Dream Eater was blasted into little glowing pieces by a short burst of flame in the form of a sphere.

            "What are those things?" one of the masked crew members demanded, his voice muted but still terrified.

            "You mean you haven't been paying attention to anything this whole trip?!" Maria demanded, whacking another Dream Eater. "They're Dream Eaters, you idiot!"

            "They only gather when there's something wrong," Riku spoke up. "Especially with someone's heart."

            Lea pointedly glared at Rourke. "Usually involving some sort of darkness."

            Rourke raised an eyebrow. "Well, It's certainly not me."

            Maria let out a growl, multiple things going through her head that clearly pointed to the renegade commander was most likely lying.

            "You'd better hope that it isn't," she snapped shortly. Maria started to summon up more energy, planning on covering her staff in fire so that she could take out more Dream Eaters more quickly.

            However, instead of being covered in flames, it started to glow a soft red right before Maria slammed the staff, butt first, into the ground. A shockwave of energy promptly followed, freezing a good number of the fish in their tracks. At the same time, the attack miraculously avoided Lea and Riku.

            "Since when were you able to do that?" Lea asked as he smashed one of the frozen Dream Eaters. "I thought you could only use fire!"

            "So did I!" Maria replied. A fish tried to sneak up on her from behind, but she snuffed it with a Fire Sphere. "I guess there's more to this staff than I thought."

            Right when the trio managed to finish off the Heartless, Milo spoke up in a defeated tone, "It says the way to the Crystal is in the eye of the king."

            Rourke grinned evilly. "All right. Get your clothes on, and then we'll go talk to the king, then."

            He grabbed Milo by the shoulders and marched him off in the direction of the pile of clothes that were lying at the edge of the pool, then he tossed the Atlantean fabric at Kida, who quickly wrapped it around her waist.

            After Milo had managed to get his own clothes on, Rourke grabbed him by the shoulders and marched off in the direction of the throne room, the rest of the crew (and Kida, with her hands forced behind her back) following.

            A pair of the gas-masked men grabbed Maria, Lea and Riku by the shoulders in order to steer them in that direction, but Maria shook them off with a blast of fire as another warning.

            "We can walk by ourselves," Maria snarled, walking away from the gas masks and after the rest of the group. Riku and Lea followed, keeping in stride with the teen.

            "Milo mentioned the king's eyes," Riku muttered. "But the king is blind."

            Maria's grip tightened on her staff as something flickered through her mind: the pool of water in the center of the courtyard, with its stones positioned haphazardly.

            "It's not the king's eye that is involved, but what would have been within sight of him," Maria murmured.

            Lea and Riku exchanged glances, but said nothing.

            The group soon reached the throne room's doors, which Rourke threw open without any opposition from the Atlantean guards - who were pushed aside with the guns. Maria swallowed and tried to keep down the rising feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.

            "What is the meaning this?!" the king demanded from his seat as the guards in the throne room got ready to fight, spears business end first.

            "Tell your guards to stand down," Rourke ordered, motioning to the men who were holding Kida between them. "Or she gets it."

            The king's white eyes widened, and he motioned to the guards, saying something in gruff Atlantean. Maria managed to translate it to the equivalent of "stand down" when the guards cautiously moved their spears away and backed up.

            Rourke smiled as the guards stood back, allowing for them to approach through most of the pool as the king got to his feet, using a familiar-looking staff for support.

            Maria found herself wondering if the king had taken a bit of advice from the baboon in the Lion King.

            "Good," Rourke said in approval. "Now, where's your power source?"

            "You will never find it," the king responded in a hoarse voice, seeming to glare at Rourke.

            Rourke frowned, frustration appearing on his face. "Look, old man, I've got no time for this." He marched through the rest of the water and up to the king, pointing a gun in the old man's face. "Either you tell me, or you don't."

            "That is a secret that I am not willing to divulge," the king stated calmly, almost as though he had been repeating what he had said before.

            In response, Rourke brought back a fist and punched the old man in the chest.

            Maria let out a hiss as she sucked in a breath of air through her teeth and flinched. An old man who was who knew how old taking a hit from a man still in his youth? It was likely that he was not going to last for long...

            Sweet dashed out of the crowd of invading hostiles and hostages and ran over to the king, kneeling by the Atlantean's side as he started to dig through a black bag he had brought with him.

            "I thought you said we weren't going to hurt anyone," he growled at Rourke. He quickly started to look the old man over for any damage that might have been done by the attack, ignoring the mercenary-rogue.

            "Things have changed," Rourke replied carelessly, almost as though his action was nothing. He turned his gaze at Milo. "All right, kid. You'd better start translating what's in that book and find where the Crystal's hiding." He pointed at the Journal in the linguist's hands.

            Milo shrugged helplessly, looking panicked. "There's nothing I can do! All it says is that it lies in the king's eye. There isn't anything else that's written about it."

            Rourke marched over to Milo and took the Journal, then marched back over to the throne, glaring at the whole group from where he stood before sitting where the king had been reclining a moment before.

            "Yeah, well, you'd better hurry it up and figure it out," Rourke snarled, waving the book about. "What does it mean by in the eye -" the rogue commander paused, catching sight of the "a"-like symbol on the cover of the book, then frowned. "Hmmm..."

            Rourke lowered the book, looked at the rest of the courtyard, then back at the book before grinning. "There it is. In the eye of the king..."

            He got to his feet, then jumped down into the pool and started to wade towards a spot that was at the center of a curling strand of stepping stones. As soon as he stepped on the area - which was, oddly enough, glowing blue - there was the sound of something moving.

            A circular area underneath Rourke's feet started to drop slowly, and Rourke grabbed Milo and pulled him onto the moving platform.

Helga followed onto the platform with Kida, then turned around and pointed her gun at Maria, Lea, and Riku. "Get on."

            The trio of teenagers felt themselves get pushed from behind, and the three jumped onto the platform. Before the courtyard was too far above their heads, however, Maria brought a fireball onto her finger and shot a fireball in the direction of the person who had pushed her. There was the sound of someone yelping and a loud splash, leaving Maria with a pleased feeling in her gut.

            A moment later, Helga had her gun aimed at Maria's head. "Try that again, and this one's going in your head."

            Maria scowled, but she didn't do anything other than stick out her tongue at the blond woman. A moment later, something caught her attention, and she moved her gaze to face where the others were staring - the large expanse that was the rest of the chamber.

            The entire chamber was made of rock, a lot of it covered over in Atlantean carvings. The only source of light was hidden behind a collection of carved boulders, suspended high up in the air where no human hand could reach.

            Lea's eyes scanned the walls of the cavern, letting out a soft whistle. "This place looks like it hasn't been entered in ages."

            "It used to be above the city, where everyone could see it," Maria murmured, getting odd looks from Helga and Rourke - the others suspected it to be another vision of hers. "It was moved down here by the king after...something happened."

            The stone platform ground to a halt as it reached the cave floor, revealing that the group was standing on only dry area in the chamber - the rest of the cave had at least a few feet of water covering the ground.

            Kida's eyes widened in awe as she stared up at the rocks. "The kings of our ancestors," she murmured. Almost instantly, she collapsed in the ground and started to murmur something that Maria figured might have been a prayer of some sort, maybe for protection or help against something...or someone.

            As an afterthought, the teen realized that the people down below might know nothing of who had truly created the universe, and it created a pang in her heart.

            Rourke sent Milo a glare. "Get her up," he growled, motioning to the Atlantean.

            Milo shook his head. "It's some sort of ritual - no one's seen this for a few hundred years, so she should be left in peace."

            Rourke's glare intensified. Reluctantly, Milo got onto his knees and touched Kida lightly on her back. The Atlantean stopped the chant short with a gasp, eyes wide from the interruption. She looked over at Milo, who gave a sad smile. Looking away, Kida slowly rose to her feet.

            Maria's gaze moved to Helga, who was starting to make her way forward, her gun pointing suspiciously up at the carved boulders as she tried to see past them.

            "How are we going to get it down?" Rourke's blond-haired accomplice asked, turning to face him.

            "Cables, most likely," Rourke responded thoughtfully. He stepped forward in order to get a better look at what was above them, purposefully kicking a pebble into the water.

            As soon as Rourke kicked the pebble into the pool, the entire chamber's atmosphere changed.

            Maria felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end when the Crystal turned red and sent red spotlights across the cave walls, thrumming in an angry tone. At the back of her mind, something flickered to life, showing the same events she was seeing now, only through the screen of a TV - and without her, Riku's, or Lea's presence.

            Maria quickly realized that seeing the event in person was much more terrifying than she had ever thought.

            Out of the corner of her eye, Maria spotted a spotlight coming towards her, and she took a step back in order to avoid getting in its way as it went for Kida. In the background, she could hear Milo telling Rourke something, but she wasn't concentrating enough to know what they were saying. And, unfortunately, her step back only caused the spotlight to move out of its original path and over her.

            As soon as the spotlight had passed over Maria, she suddenly felt the presence in her mind that felt like the one in the courtyard, before she had brought out her staff for the first time. She shuddered at the touch, but that didn't last for long.

            Three spotlights flew into her vision, and just as they touched herself, Riku, and Lea, Maria blacked out.

**Change in 3rd POV - Milo**

            Milo felt like he had had just about enough of Rourke yelling at him about the thrumming Crystal above their heads and how to get it down, as well as why it had suddenly caught Kida in a blue spotlight and she was staring intently at it.

            He had tried to tell him that it was sentient - nope.

            Tried to tell him they wouldn't be able to touch it at all - nope.

            "Look, how about you try to translate, and I'll wave the gun around!" Milo suddenly burst out, glaring at Rourke murderously. The rogue commander glared back and was about to respond, but other voices stopped them both cold.

            Kida. No, not just Kida - Maria, Lea, and Riku spoke, as well. All four turned to face the pair and, in an eerie unison, said the same thing. In Atlantean.

**_"All will be well, Milo Thatch. Be not afraid."_ **

            Milo stared at the four in shock - not just because three teenagers had managed to say something in Atlantean - but because their eyes were glowing the same bright, crystalline blue that the Crystal had returned to. However, only Kida was actually in one of the spotlights, her own crystal shard suspended in air in front of her.

            As one, the four turned around to face the Crystal again, and Kida started to walk forward.

            "What did they just say?" Rourke asked, turning to look at the linguist.

            Milo shut his jaw - as it had popped open a moment before - and said quickly, "I don't know. I-I didn't catch..."

            But he had. And he didn't want Rourke to know.

            The rogue commander gave Milo a strange look, then returned his gaze to Kida, who had already reached the Crystal...by walking on top of the water.

            The other spotlights now joined with the one that had been over Kida, joining together at once and creating a bright flash, causing the Atlantean's head to be thrown back. A moment later, she was lifted up into the air towards the Crystal.

            Milo's eyes were getting wider and wider by the second. Something big was going to happen - he could feel it.

            A moment later, Kida had disappeared into the Crystal - gone. But then the carved faces (the kings of the past) started to rotate around, accelerating as they spread out into a wider orbit and revealing the blue and white sphere they had been hiding. Then it wasn't a sphere anymore - it started to shrink, form into something else.

            Milo couldn't believe his eyes. Kida, the one woman who had ever had an interest in him...was the Crystal.

            Transformation complete, the crystallized Atlantean floated to ground level, standing on the water in a circle of blue light.

            Milo started forward, but Rourke held him back. "Hold your horses, lover boy."

            Milo sent an irritated glance back, but then looked back at Kida, who hadn't moved yet. "Kida," he called softly.

            In response, the closed eyes snapped open, revealing pure white. Kida's expression didn't change.

            "Kida," Milo repeated, shaking his head and taking a step back.

            At the same time, Kida started to walk forward. As she did, the carved rocks that had once rotated around the sphere fell with loud splashes and echoing thuds that sounded nothing but muted.

            When the crystallized Atlantean reached the shore, Rourke and Helga reached out to touch Kida, but Milo, thinking of the warnings he had read in the Journal and not of who he was dealing with, quickly warned in a quiet, uneasy voice, "No. Don't touch her."

            Kida walked past them as though they weren't even there, then turned and walked over to Maria, Lea, and Riku, who had turned to face her even as the Atlantean had reached dry land.

            Slowly, Kida moved her gaze across the three, pausing on Riku, then turning back to look at Lea, moving over Maria as she did. As soon as her blank gaze met the redhead's, the trio collapsed at once, their bodies sagging as the will to stand was completely lost.

            At the same time, the staff and the swords the trio had carried disappeared with short flashes.

            With that, Kida turned and started for the platform that had brought them down, but then she stopped right before setting foot on it.

            Rourke and Helga exchanged glances, then moved over to the three collapsed teens and unceremoniously picked them up. Then Rourke - who had the two boys on his shoulders - grabbed Milo's shirt and dragged him towards the platform.

            Below his feet, he heard something snap and crunch; a quick glance back revealed that it had been Maria's glasses, but Milo wasn't able to so much as open his mouth before he found himself forced onto the platform, and the group was going back up.

            Milo gave Kida one last, shocked look as they reached the courtyard.

            The Atlanteans were so dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can see how I'm hinting at a lot of stuff. I never got far with the connection between Atlantis and Maria, though. Not sure why now...but then again, I got so many ideas I probably forgot.


	18. Dead End...or is it?

            Liz, Jim, Sora, B.E.N., and Morph quickly and quietly climbed through the "back door" and back into B.E.N.'s home, having easily avoided awakening anyone in the pirate camp upon their return trip with the longboat.

            Jim, upon catching sight of a sleeping form wearing Dr. Doppler's coat, quickly moved over to it and started to shake the shoulder vigorously.

            "Doc! Doc!" Jim exclaimed excitedly. "Wake up - we got the map!"

            The sleeping form turned over as it threw off the coat...revealing that the sleeper was actually Silver.

            "Fine work, Jimbo," Silver stated with a sly grin. "Fine work indeed." He started to get to his feet, the mechanical leg groaning from the movement.

            There was the sound of muffled yelling, causing Liz's eyes to move over to a corner. The teen caught sight of Doppler, Amelia, and Kairi, who were tied and gagged. Doppler was the most vocal of the three, yelling something incomprehensible at the pirate that Liz suspected might have been some light swearing.

            "Thanks for showing us the way, boy," the pirate continued as the group backed up towards the back door.

            More pirates began to appear out of the shadows, however, surrounding the group in order to prevent them from escaping the same way as they had come in.

            "Ah!" B.E.N. yelped as the pirates closed in, covering his face with his hands as though he was trying to protect himself.

            "And what's this sorry hunk of metal?" Silver asked, looking the rusted robot over. He reached out to poke him with a curious finger.

            "Not the face," B.E.N. whimpered, pulling back. Liz figured that the robot had some sort of memory of getting slapped across the face by a previous employer.

            Silver chuckled, turning to look at a certain young man. "Ya know, yer just like me, Jimbo - ya hates to lose." He approached Jim and looked him in the eye, taking the map from the teenager's hands. "Now, let's see..."

            The pirate started trying to pry the sphere open and activate the map, but no matter what configuration his robotic hand went to, nothing worked. Liz couldn't help but feel triumphant at this.

            "Open it," Silver growled at Jim, tossing the sphere over to the teen. "And be quick about it."

            Jim shrugged and, after exchanging a glance with Liz, pressed specific areas of the sphere, causing the map to activate. The green grid became Treasure Planet itself, then turned into what looked like a trail of green and gold stardust, which pulsed gently as it led out of B.E.N.'s hut and to who knew where.

            "Oh, the powers that be," Silver breathed in amazement. "Would you look at that?" He burst out into loud laughter. "Tie them up and leave them with the others till we -"

            The trail was suddenly sucked back into the sphere, leaving the pirates blinking in confusion.

            "You want the map?" Jim asked, tossing the sphere up and down in his hand. "You're taking us, too."

            Silver frowned and let out a grunt of annoyance. "Hmmm..." A moment later, he let out a short chuckle. "Fine, then."

            He motioned to the pirates, and they grabbed the hostages and dragged them out of the hut, tossing Doppler, Kairi, and Amelia into the longboat they had brought from the ship.

            Morph dug himself into the collar of Jim's shirt, his teeth chattering - whether from cold or something else, Liz wasn't sure.

            "It's okay, Morph," Jim muttered as he brought the map's trail back. "We're going to be fine."

            "Let's get moving, you lot," one of the pirates muttered, forcing the group forward.

            The crowd of pirates and their captives started forward, Liz wishing that she could bring out her sword without being in danger of having it being taken from her. Her fingers twitched; if she went down, she didn't want to go without a fight.

            "Jimmy," B.E.N. suddenly murmured a few minutes into the trek, "I-I don't know about you, but I'm starting to see my life pass in front of my eyes." The android frowned. "At least, I think it's my life." A wide-eyed expression of pure confusion soon followed, and he yelled out, "Was I ever dancing with an android named Lupe?!"

            "B.E.N., shhh!" Liz hissed. "This isn't over yet." She clenched her fist. "Not while we're still up and about."

            Sora nodded in agreement. "We'll get out of this. Don't worry."

            The group continued for a time, watching as the pulsing in the trail began to increase in speed. The noise that accompanied the pulse started to become louder, as well.

            Silver began to pick up his speed with the pulse, which was extremely fast despite the injury his robotic leg had sustained from Jim's earlier attack.

            "We're getting close, lads," the pirate said, excited. "I smell treasure a-waitin'!" He let out a laugh and burst through the underbrush ahead of them, the rest of the group following at a fast pace...

            ...only to come out onto a rocky cliff overlooking a barren ravine, the pulsing trail stopping abruptly at the cliff's edge and going no further.

            The pirates - as well as most of their hostages - looked around in confusion as the trail was suddenly sucked back into Jim's sphere without so much as a warning.

            "What is this?" one of the pirates demanded. The mentioned pirate tried to dig into the cliff with the shovel he was carrying, only to be met with a resounding clang from the cliffs and without so much as a dent in the ground.

            The sound gained looks from several members of the group.

            "I don't think ground should make that kind of noise," Liz remarked to Sora.

            Sora shook his head. "Something's up," he agreed.

            "I see nothing!" the small lookout screeched, his voice echoing around the area. "One big stinking hunk of nothing!"

            Silver turned to look at Jim, who was struggling with the sphere and pressing in every circle that had responded before. "What's going on, Jimbo?" he asked cautiously, frowning suspiciously.

            "I don't know!" the boy responded. "I can't get it open!" His fingers slid over the smooth surface of the metal as he resorted to twisting it.

            "We should have never followed this boy!" yelled a pirate, pointing an accusing tentacle from where he stood behind Jim.

            "I suggest you get that gizmo going again, and fast," Silver muttered under his breath.

            "I say we rip his gizzard out right now!" another pirate shouted.

            Jim ignored the cries for mutiny as he struggled to get the map working again.

            It was right at that point that Sora caught sight of something on the ground.

            "What do you think that indent came from?" the Keyblade user asked. He got down into a crouch and started to clear a patch of moss off a circular indent that was near his foot.

            Jim caught sight of what Sora was doing and quickly moved to help. Liz moved closer to see what it was they were clearing off, and her eyes widened a moment when she saw what exactly it was that was indented into the metal below the mossy surface.

            "I say we throw him off the cliff!" a pirate shouted right as Jim slammed the sphere into the indent.

            The markings there instantly matched that which were on the sphere, which started glowing.

            A moment later, the cries for the boy's death were silenced as a giant triangle appeared right on the edge of the cliff. Inside it was pictured a collection of stars that didn't look like anything at all to Liz.

            "Oh, have mercy." Doppler's voice drifted up from somewhere behind the rest of the pirates, as Silver had kindly removed the gags from the other captives' mouths.

            "The Lagoon Nebula?" Jim asked, blinking. A frown replaced his confused look a second later. "But that's...halfway across the galaxy."

            He looked down at the map, which was now producing a sphere made of a green grid. Inside were all sorts of stars and planets in miniature.

            "Hmmm..." Liz reached out hesitantly and pressed on one of the planets. The triangle, in response, became a straight, green line before becoming a full triangle again - only, instead of there being stars, there was a desert plain.

            Jim's eyes widened. "That's Kinapis." He looked over at Liz in surprise, then looked back at B.E.N., who was staring intently at the triangle. "A big door opening and closing..." He looked back at the map at his feet, then reached out and touched an area himself. "Montressor Spaceport."

            The image became the familiar docks that the crew had left behind quite some time ago, earning gasps from the pirates. "So that's how Flint did it," Jim realized, his eyebrows arching in surprise and awe. "He used this portal to roam the universe stealing treasure!"

            He continued to press different areas of the map, watching as the triangle shifted again and again, revealing different planets and sectors of the galaxy.

            "But where'd he stash it all?" Sora asked, frowning.

            "Yar - where's the blasted treasure?!" Silver demanded.

            "It's buried..." Liz started.

            "...in the centroid of the mechanism," Jim finished. "What if the whole planet was the mechanism..."

            The pirates looked at each other, then started to try and dig into the cliff, only to run into the earth with the sound of metal clashing against metal. Shovels were tossed aside, broken to the point of being unusable.

            "...and the treasure is buried in the center of the planet?" Liz smirked, then reached into the small grid-like map and touched the place that resembled Treasure Planet.

            Instantly, the portal's image flickered, revealing piles upon piles of gold that quickly brought a loud cheer from the pirates...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, my chapters really like to fluctuate in length.


	19. vs. Rourke

            One moment, Maria felt like she was floating out in the middle of the sea, being rocked back and forth by the waves and feeling nothing but absolute bliss.

            The next, something was dropped on her chest and she felt an energy surge so sudden and so powerful that her eyes snapped open and she sat up as stiff as a rod. It felt as though her heart was about to burst out of her ribcage.

            After a moment, Maria realized that she was sitting near the king's lean-to in the courtyard, and the colors were brighter and everything seemed sharper.

            She rubbed her eyes reflexively, only for her to realize that she wasn't wearing her glasses...and nothing was fuzzy.

            Plus, her staff was gone.

            "What is this?" Riku asked from Maria's left, sounding breathless. "I haven't felt so..."

            "Energized?" Maria prompted, looking over at the Keyblade master.

            The silver-haired teen gave a nod.

            Something moved in the corner of Maria's eye, and she turned her head sharply in order to see who was coming. She would have relaxed when she saw who it was, but she still felt like she was ready for a fight.

            "Kaz?" Maria asked. "What's going on?"

            The Atlantean smiled lightly. "You have spoken with Yobmok, whether you remember it or not."

            Maria felt a chill go down her back. _Yobmok...Mother Crystal...Heart of Atlantis...of course!_

            "How does that explain why I feel like I'm ready to take on a horde of Dream Eaters?" Lea retorted from Maria's right.

            "That is Yobmok's work. She provides us with the energy we need, and she has deemed you worthy of being...adopted, I believe is the term in your language."

            Maria's eyes widened. "Adopted?"

            "Are you saying that we're now a part of your city?" Riku asked, frowning.

            Kaz gave a nod. "Yes." A concerned expression crossed his face. "However, even that may not last for long, as Yobmok and Kidagakash have been taken from us."

            Maria frowned, then hissed through her teeth. "Rourke." She started to get to her feet, only to find that her legs didn't want to hold up her weight, and she collapsed back onto her rear, scowling. "He got away."

            "He won't for long." Riku quickly shifted his own weight and got to his feet, using a nearby pillar for support. "We have to get it back, before this world falls deeper into darkness."

            Kaz looked over at the Keyblade user with a curious expression, but then gave a nod before offering his hands towards Lea and Maria and helping them to their feet. "We must move quickly, then. Yobmok gains further distance between herself and us by the moment. If any of you are to understand your new state among us, however, you must speak with the king."

            He started to lead Maria and Lea towards the lean-to, where Sweet was kneeling over the king and seeing what he could do in order to heal the king.

            Sweet looked up as the group approached. Milo, who was also sitting nearby with his knees tucked up against his chest, glanced up in surprise.

            "There isn't anything I can do," the African American stated, taking the stethoscope from his ears. "Too much internal bleeding."

            He looked over at the trio of teenagers. "And you three are going to have some explaining to do."

            Maria shrugged, a helpless look on her face. "I don't know if we can explain anything." She looked over at Milo, taking note that he looked somewhat...hurt. Then his eyes moved further down, and they instantly widened.

            Curious, Maria looked down as well, only to notice that a glowing blue gem, much like what the other Atlanteans wore.

            She started to reach for it in bewilderment and wonder. "What -"

            "A part of what the Crystal wanted," came a wheezing voice.

            Maria's head turned sharply, meeting the blind eyes of the king. "What do you mean?"

            "As soon as you three set foot in this place, I was warned of the presence of someone from another world. You have stepped into something that your kind has been a part of for generations. All the way back...to the one who informed you of this place. The one...who wrote the book at my behest."

            Milo blinked, then turned and looked back at the king in surprise. "You mean the _Shepherd's Journal_."

            "As you call it, yes. I had need to find the family again, as they had long since been cut off." The king took in a breath. "I needed to find a successor for his position, but now it may be too late."

            "What do you mean?" Lea asked, frowning.

            Maria noticed that he, also, had a crystal dangling around his neck.

            "When the Crystal is in danger, if defends itself by choosing a member of the royal family. However, if they remain so for too long, they could become lost."

            Maria's eyes flickered as she saw visions of another time, another place - when she had sat in the living room with her family, watching the movie. Something told her that there had been a lot that Disney had either purposefully overlooked...or never knew of.

            "Milo," the king rasped, moving to remove the crystal from around his neck.

            Milo shifted around completely, looking at the king uneasily.

            "Save my daughter." The king took Milo's hand in his, pressing the crystal shard into his hands. "Save Atlantis..."

            The king's voice trailed off, and his hand collapsed onto his chest.

            An eerie quiet fell over the courtyard as the palace guards knelt in mourning. Something in Maria wanted to join them.

            Milo looked at the Crystal in his hand in surprise, then turned to look at the rest of the group that was standing around the king. He looked panicked.

            "Well, this is great," Milo said. "I've put an entire city in danger, I've pretty much killed the royal family...and now Rourke's probably going to sell to the KAISER!"

            He threw his hands up in the air. "How am I going to do that with the bridge blown out?"

            "Sorry," came an Italian mutter from the other side of the courtyard.

            "There's always a way," Maria stated stubbornly in reply. "We just have to find a way to get across the chasm without anything going wrong."

            She paused and looked between Lea and Riku - who, Maria noted, also had a crystal hanging around his neck. Looking back at Milo, she added, "and I think I've got an idea as to what we can do."

            Milo gave Maria a look of confusion. "You do?"

            "Remember that fish Kida showed you a few hours ago?"

            Milo blinked, then frowned. "There's only the one -"

            "Actually, there's more."

            Everyone stared at Maria, who held out her right hand. A moment later, the phoenix staff materialized in her grip. "There are multiple transports scattered around the city. All we have to do is hunt them down."

            Milo blinked, then gained a determined nod. "Right. Let's go."

**Time Break**

            The hunt for the "flying fish," as Lea called them, ended up as a great success for the group of Atlantean warriors and the small collection of people from above. Maria, Lea, Milo, and Riku waited until the others had managed to get transports before they started to look for their own.

            It was Riku who actually managed to find them.

            "Over here," the silver-haired teen called, getting the attention of the other three. "These might work."

            He motioned to a scattering of transports - three of them identical, one of them not.

            "Let's test it out, then." Lea jumped on one of the identical transports - which Maria thought looked like some sort of dolphin. Taking the crystal from around his neck, the redhead plugged it in. "Half-turn right, quarter turn left..."

            There was a low hum as the dolphin's runic carvings started to glow, and it was lifted from the ground.

            Lea gave the other three a thumbs-up, and they quickly dashed for the other transports.

            Maria and Riku leaped onto the dolphins at the same time and activated them, shortly after which Milo did.

            "All right," Milo said, urging his transport - a hammerhead shark - up into the air. "Let's go."

            "We're right behind you," Maria promised, moving to a position pretty much at the shark's tail, but a little to the left. Riku and Lea moved in to Maria's left, the Keyblade Master taking point.

            She started to question herself as to how she knew how to pilot the thing, only to stop when she realized the directionals were patterned after a very familiar video game controller - the PS2.

            The group joined up with the rest of the fleet, where Kaz was waiting on one of the generic fish. He gave a nod of what looked like approval before moving away from the front of the pack, allowing the four to take over at the head.

            "All right, we're going to get the Crystal, rescue the princess, and save Atlantis!" Milo called out.

            "Let's knock them into the next century!" Maria crowed.

            This produced a loud roar from their small army, and they took off into the tunnel at the other side of the chasm.

            "Okay, here's the plan!" Milo called, looking back at the rest of the group. "We're going to come in low and fast and take them by surprise!"

            "I've got some news for you, Milo," Audrey called back with a shake of her head. She and Sweet had opted to share one of the smaller shark-transports. "Rourke is never surprised and he's got a lot of guns."

            Maria frowned. "Not good," she muttered.

            "Well, have you got any suggestions?" Milo asked.

            "Yeah!" Vinny shouted from further back. "Don't get shot!"

            They turned a corner in the tunnel and came up fast on the dormant volcano. Already, there was a giant red balloon rising up into the air, with a rather familiar steel crate attached to the bottom.

            "There they are!" Milo yelled, pointing down.

            "We've got company!" came a loud yell from below.

            The group below instantly scattered and started to go after the surface-dweller weapons.

            Maria adjusted her grip on her staff, watching below as gunshots resounded through the area. She sent energy through to her staff, then raised it high. An electric shock sparked off the staff and down to the bottom of the cavern.

            Maria didn't get to see the result - too busy piloting the dolphin and making sure that she wasn't shot - but she did hear a couple explosions go off.

            A moment later, Vinny flew by, slamming into his fish repeatedly and firing off bright blue spheres that hit trucks and some sort of plane launcher.

            "Now things are getting good," Maria remarked, quoting the Italian from out of her memories. Her staff disappeared, and a moment later a fireball took its place. After aiming for only a moment, she fired at a plane that had decided to fly right in front of her path. There was an explosion and a cloud of smoke.

            A moment later, there was a loud screech, and what looked like a bat that had been painted by a clown flew out of the smoke and right at Maria. The girl let out a yelp and ducked, then turned the dolphin around and hit the Atlantean rune that looked a lot like a circle. A stream of blue electricity hit the bat in the back, causing it to vanish in an explosion of color.

            "Lea! Riku!" Maria called out. "Some of these things are Dream Eaters!"

            The two Keyblade users, who had been circling nearby, looked at each other.

            Lea grinned. "Now this is going to be a lot more fun," he stated.

            "It seems that they were attracted by Rourke's and Helga's greed," Riku called out. "Take down as many of those flying machines as you can! Maybe some of the others are Dream Eaters, as well."

            With that, the Keyblade user blasted off, going after one of the planes. Lea and Maria mimicked his idea soon after.

            The entire airfield may as well have been an obstacle course, Maria realized later, what with avoiding the bullets from the planes and the blasts from the Atlanteans. It somewhat helped that the blasts only charged up her dolphin more, rather than damage her ride, but Maria couldn't help but feel cautious about taking too many.

            The Dream Eater Pilots were also pretty predictable, each of them flying around in continuous circles - especially when there was someone chasing them. However, they were still rather fast and hard to aim at, so Maria had a bit of a hard time actually getting a direct hit on them. Most of the time, she would clip a wing or the tail of the plane, then manage to get the gas main when the plane started to spiral a little out of control.

            It wasn't picture perfect, but it managed to get the job done.

            Eventually, there was only one plane left, piloted by the one Dream Eater who had made it into the sky the human way. The ones on the ground were also pretty much contained by the other Atlanteans.

            "Lea!" Milo suddenly called out, flying over the trio. "I need you to help Sweet and Audrey to help get Kida loose! Maria, Riku - you, Vince, and I are going to serve as a distraction!"

            Maria gave a thumbs-up. "You got it!" She turned sharply and started for the blimp next to Riku, Milo and Vince ahead of them.

            When the group of four approached the blimp, Helga - who was on the blimp with Rourke - instantly retaliated with firing from a shotgun. The group instantly scattered around the blimp and started to circle, drawing more fire from the blond-haired woman.

            And then came Rourke's bazooka.

            Maria barely managed to slide over one of the shots, and she turned her head sharply to look over at the blimp. A fireball started to form in her hand, only for a blue electric-blast to take out he gun. Maria moved her gaze just in time to see Vince give a smirk and a salute to Rourke before taking off.

            Almost a moment later, there was an explosion from below, followed by Lea shouting. "Go! I've got this! You guys watch out for anybody who could come close!"

            A moment later, Sweet and Audrey started to circle close to Kida's container while Lea gripped one of the iron chains, already red-hot from the fire that licked them.

            Maria was about to go down herself, but then here was the sudden sound of something exploding, and the entire blimp suddenly dropped a good number of feet.

            "We're losing altitude," Rourke warned. "We'll have to lighten the load."

            Maria looked up just in time for her to move out if the way of the falling barrel.

            "That's the last of it," came Helga's voice from above. "Unless someone wants to jump."

            "Ladies first," came Rourke's reply.

            A moment later, Helga came flying over the edge of the blimp, but she didn't catch the railing. Maria intervened with her dolphin first, and the blond-haired woman landed on the tail as Maria few away from the blimp.

            "Wha -"

            "Don't say a word," Maria hissed through her teeth, not bothering to look back. "You're not someone who should be allowed to, after what you've done."

            Something in her tone kept Helga from saying anything more, but Maria wasn't about to look back just to make sure.

            She was glaring at a fight that was going on between Rourke and Milo.

            And Milo was losing.


	20. The Centroid of the Mechanism

            The pirates let out a whoop of excitement upon seeing the gold in the portal. The group surged forward, but Silver stopped them from going any further. He himself stepped through the portal first and entered the giant treasure room with a look of pure bliss on his face.

            Instantly, the other pirates piled in after him.

            Not wanting to be left behind, Liz started forward herself, only to hesitate when she reached the entrance.

            Something told her at the back of her head that something was wrong, but she wasn't sure what.

            Sora took note of her hesitant expression. "Hey. Is something up?"

            "I don't know," Liz replied cautiously. "This just feels...too easy."

            She stepped forward into the portal, a tingling sensation going from her head to her toes that was ticklish, but not unbearable.

            "The loot of a thousand worlds..." Silver quoted.

            "We are going to need a bigger boat!" the lookout yelled, looking over the large pile of gold and jewels that were now under their feet.

            The whole area seemed to rotate slowly, sparks of purple energy occasionally shooting from metal spikes and into holes in the pile of gold.

            Something about the purple color made something in Liz want to shudder, but she ignored it.

            The pirates scattered, diving into the gold with loud whoops and cheers. Jim started after them, and Liz opted to follow after him. As did B.E.N. and Sora.

            "This is all seeming very familiar," B.E.N. murmured, tapping the back of his rusting head as they went. "Can't remember why."

            "B.E.N., come on," Jim said, ignoring the robot's mutterings. "We're getting out of here alive, and we're not leaving empty-handed."

            "Do you know what's strange?" B.E.N. asked as the continued to hike up one of the piles of gold. "I can't tell you how frustrating this is, Jimmy, cause there's something just - it's nagging at the back of my head."

            "Even though you have nothing at the back of your head?" Liz remarked dryly.

            B.E.N. gave Liz an odd look and was about to say something in response when Sora let out a yelp of surprise.

            "Who's that?" the Keyblade user asked, pointing at a skeleton sitting on a throne in what appeared to be a skiff.

            "Captain Flint?" Liz guessed, approaching the skiff and climbing on. The others followed.

            "In the flesh!" B.E.N. exclaimed, moving to stand in front of the three-eyed skull. "Well, s-sort of, except for skin, organs, or anything that-that-that resembles flesh...that's not there. And yet, it's so odd, you know? I remember that there was something horrible...something Flint didn't want anyone else to know...but - just can't remember what it was. Oh, a mind is a terrible thing to lose!"

            Jim walked over to where Flint's skeleton lay, and, after inspecting the corpse, he moved over to the pirate's clenched hand and tore it open, pulling out the piece of tech the skeletal fingers were holding.

            "B.E.N., I think I just found your mind." He moved over to the robot and grabbed the back of his head. "Now, hold still."

            "Ahh!" B.E.N. exclaimed. "Jimmy, your hands are very, very cold." There was a clicking noise as the bit of tech snapped back into place at the back of B.E.N.'s head, wires connecting with wires as though they had a mind of their own.

            "Whoa!" B.E.N. blinked in surprise as Jim removed his hand from the robot's head. "You know, uh, Jimmy, I was just thinking... I was just think - It's all flooding back! All my memories! Right up until Flint pulled my memory circuits so I could never tell anybody about his booby trap!"

            At the words "booby trap," there was a loud crashing noise somewhere on the golden sphere.

            Liz gained a bad feeling that boded of a lot of running from death in the near future.

            "You'd better explain," Sora stated, turning to look at the robot. "Fast."

            "Flint wanted to make sure that no one would ever steal his treasure," B.E.N. stated quickly. "So he rigged this entire planet to blow higher than a Kalepsian kite!"

            There were more explosions across the sphere. From where Liz stood, she could see the sphere starting to break apart and the gold fall into the crevices. The pirates started to scatter and run back towards the entrance.

            "Run, Jimmy!" B.E.N. yelled. "Run for your life!"

            Jimmy shook his head, looking over the skiff. "You guys go back and help the Captain, Kairi and Doc get out of here. If I'm not out of here in ten minutes, leave without me." He crawled under Flint's seat.

            "I am not leaving my buddy Jimmy," the robot stated boldly, grabbing Jim's feet and pulling him out. However, when Jim, who was holding two sparking wires, glared at the robot, B.E.N. squeaked, "Unless he looks at me like that. Bye, Jim!"

            With that, the robot turned and ran off for the portal with an odd amount of speed for an old rust bucket.

            Jim turned his glare to Sora and Liz, who gave him the same glare in return.

            "I am definitely _not_ leaving without you," Liz stated.

            "Neither am I," Sora agreed. He looked around the skiff. "What do you need us to do in order to get this thing flying?"

            Jim blinked in confusion for a moment, then gained a determined expression and started telling the pair where the power couplings were and how to get them moving.

            Liz managed to push Flint and his throne off the skiff, lightening the boat's load by a lot.

            They left what gold that was on the skiff there - Jim had insisted that they all get at least something besides the boat out of it.

            It wasn't long before the skiff powered up, the ragged sails filling up with an unfelt wind as the skiff lifted up from the pile of gold.

            "Yes!" Jim exclaimed. "We are so out of here!" He steered the skiff quickly over to where the portal was and started to get it moving smoothly.

            Just before they reached the portal, though, something caught Sora's eye.

            "Look down there!" the brown-haired boy exclaimed, pointing to a break in the sphere's surface. "It's Silver!"

            Jim paused, then looked over the edge of the skiff and down into the break. Silver, who was holding onto the edge of the break, was looking absolutely terrified.

            "We should get him out of here," Liz remarked. "Pirate or no pirate, no one deserves to die down here."

            Jim didn't answer, but did steer the skiff towards the break and started to lower it towards the dangling figure below.

            "Ah, Jimbo!" Silver exclaimed as the skiff approached. "Aren't you the seventh wonder of the universe?" He reached out his free hand, and Liz and Sora grabbed it, hauling him up.

            Some of the gold was lost in the process, but Jim didn't say anything in protest about it; there was still a decent amount left.

            "So, what now?"

            "We're going to leave all this stuff behind and get out of here," Jim stated flatly as he steered them towards the portal. "Liz, Sora - we need to lighten the load so that we can get outer of here in time."

            "What? But what about the gold?" Silver asked. "What about your inn?"

            Jim sent the pirate a pointed look, and the cyborg took a step back.

            At the same time, Liz and Sora threw a good number of coins and jewels over the side before pushing the last of the treasure - a giant statue of some alien - over the side. The skiff practically flew forward.

            "It's just a lifelong obsession," Jim replied, his voice oddly calm. "You'll get over it."

            The skiff shot through the portal and out onto the planet's surface, but it didn't look so much like the planet they had seen a scant few minutes before. Metal plates shifted constantly as explosions and molten metal worked their way to the surface. And over the whole thing was that single ship that would get everyone out in time: the Legacy.

            Jim managed to steer the boat onto the main deck and land it with a skidding shriek. Liz and Sora were thrown off in the process, but the only thing that came out of it were a couple bruises. A moment later, the entire ship suddenly tilted to one side.

            Liz could have sworn that she could have heard the lookout screaming from below.

            "We'd better hurry!" B.E.N. called out from where he stood in front of the navigation control panel. "We've got exactly two minutes and thirty-four seconds to planet's destruction!"

            "Take us out of here, metal man!" Amelia ordered.

            "Aye, aye, Captain!" B.E.N. replied with a salute. He turned to the ship's navigation systems and started to work quickly, typing in calculations and figuring out the best route.

            "Ah, Captain, you dropped from the heavens in the nick of time," Silver stated as he walked over to the stairs that led to the wheel.

            "Save your claptrap for the judge, Silver!" Amelia snapped from her position next to the wheel, where Doppler was standing nervously.

            The smile that had been on the pirate's face faded.

            "Missile tail demobilized, Captain!" B.E.N. warned, looking up. His eyes showed a percentage. "Thrusters at only 50% capacity!"

            "50%?" Doppler repeated, his eyes widening. "That means we'll -"

            "We'll never clear the explosion in time," Amelia finished, a grim look on her face.

            Jim frowned, then looked over at the skiff. "We gotta turn around," he stated.

            "Wait - what?" Doppler asked.

            "There's a portal back there!" Liz called out, catching on. "It can probably get us out of here and away from the blast!"

            "But, wasn't it open to that mess we left behind?" Sora asked, frowning.

            "Yes," Jim admitted as he ran for the skiff, "but I'm gonna change that. I'm going to open a different door." He pushed the skiff back upright again and started up its engine.

            "Captain," Doppler responded, "I don't see how this is possible -"

            "Listen to the boy!" Silver barked. "He knows what he's doing!"

            "One minute, 29 seconds to planet's destruction!" B.E.N. shouted.

            "Turn this thing around!" Liz shouted as Silver ran off to help Jim with getting the skiff in position.

            "Working on it!" Doppler called back as he spun the wheel. The ship responded to his touch, turning around in a tight circle to face the portal.

            "Fifty-eight seconds!" B.E.N. called.

            At the same time, Jim's skiff took off from the ship and flew towards the portal, easily dodging the massive shifting of plates and explosions that got in his way. The ship was much slower, however, having to find wider paths in order to get through with minimal damage.

            Below, there came a squeal that definitely sounded like the lookout: "We're all gonna die!"

            The cry was ignored.

            "Come on, come on," Liz muttered as they approached the portal, Jim leaning out of his skiff as he approached the green sphere that controlled the portal. "We can make it."

            There was a flash of green in front of them, and the Legacy went through the portal and out into clear space. In front of them was a crescent shape, and Liz instantly knew she was staring at the Spaceport. Glancing back, she saw that some of the planet's explosion had followed them through, but the ship was far enough away that it wouldn't be damaged.

            A loud cheer went up from the crew as Jim swung the skiff back around and landed on the deck, grinning triumphantly.

            "I said you had greatness in ya!" Silver exclaimed, coming over and slapping the boy on the back. "Ya believe me now?"

            Jim nodded in agreement, grinning.

            Liz let out a sigh of relief and leaned back against a wooden wall, watching as Morph exploded into confetti above Jim's head. A moment later, she realized that, what with Treasure Planet gone, things were going to settle down.

            She was going to go back to Mysterious Tower soon.

            She hoped that Riku had actually managed to find her sister.


	21. Rescue

            "Not good," Maria muttered as she glared at the blimp. She started for it as Milo fell through the blades, holding onto a part of the railing. Luckily, the linguist wasn't hurt.

            "Congratulations, you just won the solid gold Cupie doll," came Rourke's sarcastic voice as Maria flew in close.

Milo grabbed at the chains that were above Kida's prison, high enough above where Lea was working that he didn't end up getting burned. Rourke started to follow after him, now armed with an axe.

            "You know how many times I wanted to go after your grandfather to get this whole thing moved along, Thatch?" Rourke asked as he waved the axe about. He attempted to hit Milo with it, but Lea's hand shot up with a blast of fire that forced the axe away from Milo. It slammed into the window on Kida's prison on the way down, but it didn't stay stuck there.

            "Leave him alone," Lea growled. Maria was pretty much below them, now, right in front of the broken window. "You're the one in the fire, not him."

            "Like I want anything to do with that religious nonsense," Rourke scoffed.

            "It's NOT nonsense!" Maria barked.

            "And I'm not talking religiously, either," Lea snarled. He removed his hands from the chains and lashed out at Rourke, who dodged the fire-cloaked punch almost a moment too late. "Because I'm ready to give you a burning you'll never forget!"

            Milo ducked as one of Rourke's arms moved over his head. The linguist nearly stumbled off the container, but he managed to catch hold of one of the chains Lea hadn't gotten to yet. He glanced down as Lea started to get ready to lash out at Rourke again, and Milo reached down and grabbed something.

            A moment later, a glowing piece of glass carved a slit into Rourke's arm.

            Maria, catching sight of this, saw a vision: _a glowing blue statue - propellers -_

            She abruptly grabbed Lea from behind and pulled him into his transport; Milo followed right as Rourke's form started to change.

            Gone was the more human look - Rourke turned blue, with glowing orange veins working their way through his now crystalline form. Glowing orange eyes stared at the group, and the monster let out a shriek that grated against Maria's ears.

            However, the transformation didn't stop here. Rourke began to grow, causing the blimp to suddenly drop.

            Maria's eyes widened. "That didn't happen before."

            "Well, what are we going to do, then?" Lea demanded from his transport. "We can't just let that monster do what he wants! And we can't get the princess back while he's around!"

            "Don't you think I know that?" Maria snapped in reply.

            At the back of her mind, something started to encourage her to unleash an attack on the crystalline monster, but she didn't know anything that would have been strong enough for that.

            That is, until she suddenly felt her temperature spike, and a voice that didn't sound like anyone she knew reverberated through her skull.

_*All you need is a little push*_

            Maria looked down at her hands, only for her eyes to widen in alarm when she saw the white, fiery sparks coming off her hands.

            "Maria?" Lea asked. "What -"

            Maria clenched her hands and looked up at the monster that had been Rourke. She knew that she had to release her power, but she wasn't sure as to what would happen when she did.

            "Stay back," Maria warned.

            She shut her eyes and forced the power out. Maria let out a yell as she felt power explode out of her in all directions. A moment later, she concentrated on taking out the crystalline monster she could hear roaring on the blimp. Almost an instant later, loud explosions followed as Maria heard yells of alarm.

            Only a moment later did she realize that there was something that was draining her of her energy.

            Almost instinctively, she cut the power to whatever the attack had been and she opened her eyes. At the same time, Maria fell back from her standing position and into the seat of the transport, panting heavily.

            Rourke and the blimp were pretty much gone, with Kida's prison lying on the bottom of the volcano.

            A moment later, there was a low rumble as the rock around then shook.

            "The volcano!" Mole wailed. "She wakes!"

            "We've got to get out of here now!" Riku called out. Glancing over at Maria and seeing that she looked completely and utterly exhausted, he continued, "Milo - get control of Maria's ship and get her and Helga out of here."

            "But what about -"

            "We'll worry about Kida," Lea finished in a determined voice. "Go."

            Even in Maria's tired state, she could tell that the look on Lea's face and the tone in his voice was not one that someone would feel like ignoring.

            Milo looked reluctant, but then nodded as Lea brought his transport over next to Maria's. He climbed on - not without sending a glare in Helga's direction - then turned the dolphin and started out of there as fast as the transport could handle. Behind and around them, the other fish were zooming out as fast as they could go.

            In seconds, they were out of the tunnel and landing in the main square of Atlantis.

            As Maria got to her feet, she felt a wave of dizziness overtake her, and she had to lean against Milo for support. At the same time, Lea and Riku came in on their transports, toting Kida's container hanging between them on what remained of the chains.

            "So, how are we going to open this?" Audrey asked as the pair landed. "And no, we are not going to use your saw!"

            She glared at Sweet, who raised his hands in defense as he backed away a step.

            "We got this," Lea stated boldly as he and Riku summoned their Keyblades with a bright flash. The two teenagers promptly pointed their weapons at the capsule's door, white lasers shooting off the business end of the keys.

            There was an audible click, and the metal door swung open, only to be completely knocked off its hinges as the rest of the capsule was torn apart at the seams, revealing the crystallized Kida. Slowly, the parts of the capsule started to rotate around her as the carvings in the stone below them started to glow with the same energy as wheat was in the crystals that hung from the necks of the Atlanteans.

            Maria took a cautionary step back, watching as cracks started to appear in the ground. "Uh, guys? I think we'd better move."

            She pulled Milo back with her limping gait, Lea and Riku mimicking the movements as the cracked ground started to be pushed up.

            With a low rumble, the ground suddenly exploded upward, releasing the carved faces that had been trapped below the throne room not so long ago. They rose into the air, circling Kida as she rose with them. The circling started to pick up speed, turning Kida into a glowing, bright blue sphere. Beams of light shot out at perfect intervals towards the edge of the plateau.

            There were reactions around the edge of the plateau immediately. Even from where Maria stood - now able to stand without help from Milo - she could see the stone statues that were standing on the edge of the plateau moving. A blue, water-like force field followed just as quickly, spreading across the top of the plateau, then up towards the Crystal.

            Maria's eyes sparkled with amazement as the lava rolled over the energy shield like it was the rocky sides of the volcano. The teen mentally predicted that, somewhere above them, people on ships were watching lava boil up at the ocean's surface with great confusion.

            As the lava hardened with the unusual quickness that Maria now remembered seeing in the movie, everything went dark except for the pale light of the Atlantan crystal shards and the great, spinning sphere above them. About a minute later, Atlantan symbols began to appear in the obsidian rock, each one glowing a bright green.

            Maria then noticed that, oddly enough, all the Atlantean crystals were glowing the same color, and that the Atlanteans themselves seemed to be calm and collected, and not running screaming like people on the surface might have.

            The teen also couldn't help but feel calm, as well, and wondered if the shade of green meant that they were safe from harm.

            "That thing is pretty powerful," Lea noted, looking up at the Crystal above their heads. "If anyone gets on it's bad side, they're dead."

            "Rourke did, remember?" Maria responded. "Giant crystal statue?"

            "About that." Riku turned to look at Maria and Lea. "You never told me you had that much power in you. Lea, were you working with her on that?"

            Lea shook his head. "That was just as much of a shock for me."

            "Are you talking about the energy I released?" Maria asked, looking between the two with a curious look. She gained a sheepish expression. "I wasn't exactly watching when I released it."

            "Well, white-hot fire went just about everywhere," Lea remarked. "It took out what was left of the Dream Eaters, then caused the blimp to explode."

            "How did you know you could cause your power to flare out like that?" Riku asked, frowning.

            Maria shrugged helplessly. "I didn't. I just felt a sudden build-up of power and I needed to release it." She frowned. "Maybe it was instinct - I dunno."

            "Yeah, well, that White Flare of yours should be put under more control so that you don't nearly kill yourself like you did back there," Lea remarked.

            As the obsidian-shield around them started to crumble and fall into the ravine that was beyond the edge of the plateau, Maria gave a slight nod. "Yeah. That would probably be a good idea. I wouldn't want to be pushed to the limit or anything."

            When the watery shield above them had finally disappeared from sight, Milo took a few steps forward, careful to avoid the giant gaping hole that now resided in the center of the marketplace. His eyes remained on the Crystal and the single beam of light that now came down from it.

            Moments later, a single, familiar figure started to descend from the blue and white sphere. Milo ended up moving into the spotlight so that he could catch Kida just as she reached the ground and the spotlight flickered out with a flash.

            Maria took a cautious step forward, as did Lea and Riku, the trio watching as Kida took in a breath with a gasp and opened her eyes, only to stare up at Milo. A relieved smile came over her face, but then she frowned and looked over at one hand, which remained tightly clenched around something.

            Upon opening her hand and seeing the bracelet that lay there, Kida smiled with relief and glanced up at the Crystal before turning her attention back to Milo and embracing him.

            As soon as Kida and Milo were hugging each other just for the relief of having the whole escapade over and done with, a ghostly figure appeared in front of Lea, Riku, and Maria. Maria recognized her immediately as Kida's mother.

            **_"You three have done well in preserving our home,"_** the apparition stated calmly.

            Maria looked embarrassed at this. "I-it was nothing, really," she murmured.

            **_"But is was something, my child. It seems that the choice for you to have the Phoenix Staff was the right one."_** The apparition's gaze hardened. **_"However, know that your journey across worlds will not end here. Riku and Lea, you are aware of the fight that is ahead of you."_**

The two Keyblade users nodded.

            **_"Know, too, that Maria will not be able to assist you, as she has her own journey to undertake."_**

            Maria blinked, and her eyes widened. "A journey? What do you mean? I thought that I would be going -"

            **_"Home? You will. But you will be called away repeatedly to other places that will have need of you. Your family has chosen to pass their title onto you."_**

            Maria scratched the back of her head, then glanced over at Kida and Milo, only for her to look away again - how Disney had missed the strangely passionate kiss the two were having, she had no idea. "Title? What do you mean? And why?"

            **_"All in due time. That is not something that I am capable of discussing here and now."_**

            Maria frowned in confusion at this. "What-"

            Before the teen could finish her question, the former queen turned into light, then zapped up to the Crystal, getting Milo and Kida out of their lip lock in surprise.

            "What was that all about?" Milo asked, looking over at Maria.

            The teenager shrugged helplessly. "I wish I knew. All I know is now I've got a big puzzle ahead of me."

            "And a long journey back up top," Lea added. "I'm getting the feeling that the Keyhole's somewhere up there, and I've gotta get going if this world's ever going to wake up."

            "I don't think I should go."

            Everyone present turned to look at Milo with surprise.

            "Why not?" Audrey asked, frowning.

            "They're going to need my help in order to revive their culture," the linguist explained. "At least, what's left of it." He looked down at the crystal shard that hung around his neck. "Besides, the king trusted me. I've got to stay."

            Maria cocked her head slightly, studying the scholar with a slight frown on her face. "Is that your final choice on the matter? Cause if it is, you probably won't be going back up ever again."

            Milo looked directly Kida's eyes, then moved his gaze to Maria and nodded. "Yes, it is. I'm staying."

            A huge grin crossed Kida's face, and she hugged Milo tightly. "Thank you, Milo! Thank you!"

            Maria smiled. "We'll make sure to spread the word around. You guys go ahead and...enjoy the moment, I guess." With that, she turned and walked towards what remained of the submarine's crew, confidence in every step.


	22. Goodbye

            Liz looked over the edge of the ship as they came in to dock at the Spaceport. She was as wide awake as she had ever been, if only because she had gotten her first fully relaxing sleep for the first time on that voyage - no Heartless attacks to cause her to worry, so there wasn't anything wrong with kicking back. A serene smile on her face, the girl thought back to events that had taken place the night before...

_Despite the fact that everyone had almost died in Flint's Booby Trap, there was a festive feeling in the air. The pirates were let out for a quick breather without their weapons, and drinks from a hidden stash somewhere on the ship were passed around. Luckily, there was no alcohol of any kind in them - apparently, the people in this section of space get drunk on sugary fruit drinks - so Kairi, Sora, Liz, and Jim were able to take a sip from the selection, as well._

_At about midnight (or what would count as such), a strange hole appeared in one of the sails - a Keyhole, to be precise. Sora and Kairi had promptly fired beams of light from both their Keyblades into the hole, making the world locked from Heartless attacks. The crew, thinking that it was a fireworks display, had oohed and aahed, while Doppler and Amelia had hidden themselves away in the Captain's Quarters...something about more suitable drinks and more suitable company._

            "Hey, Liz!"

            The girl turned her head, catching sight of a certain spiky-haired Keyblade user. "What's up, Sora?"

            "Kairi and Jim want us to come down by the skiffs," Sora replied. "Come on!"

            The two dashed off the main deck (where a few stragglers from the night before were wandering about, moaning about hangovers from the sugar), and into the interior of the ship. Within a matter of minutes, they had reached the dock Sora had mentioned.

            Liz couldn't help but chuckle. They had caught Silver in the act of slipping away!

            The cyborg pirate looked up at the group, surprised to see them watching him. "Hello, kiddies," he greeted. "What're you doing down here? Shouldn't you be in bed after last night?"

            "We aren't affected by that stuff as much as you guys," Liz responded with a shrug. "What about you? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

            "I don't drink," Silver stated flatly.

            Morph came out from underneath one of the seats of the skiff as the cyborg continued, "Listen, I don't want to be too much of a bother, but could you kids let me, well, slip out? See, Morphy is a bit of a free spirit - I can't very well keep 'im in a cage." The pink blob seemed to purr in response to this, rubbing on the side of Silver's face affectionately.

            "It seems like you're more of a free spirit than he is," Sora noted, folding his arms across his chest.

            "What makes you say that?" Silver asked with a nervous chuckle.

            "You could have given Morph to us for safekeeping," Kairi responded. "Instead, you're slipping away."

            The cyborg held up his hands in submission. "All right, ye caught me. But would you mind lettin' me go, just this once? Now that me dream is complete, I want to go out - see the galaxy fer meself!"

            The four kids exchanged glances.

            "Think we should let him go?" Liz asked, appearing uninterested with his proposal.

            Jim appeared to think for a moment, then looked over at Silver and nodded. "All right, we'll let you go."

            A large grin appeared on Silver's face. "Thanks, lad!" He jumped into the skiff, which he had been untying while they had been talking. "Oh, and by the way..."

            The cyborg reached into a pocket of his trenchcoat and tossed a large handful of gold coins and jewels at Jim's feet. "Build yerself a new in with that!"

            Jim's eyes widened, and he reached down and snatched up the pile of treasure. When he looked up to say thanks, the skiff, Silver, and Morph were gone.

            "Wow," Liz murmured, looking down at the pile of treasure in Jim's hands. "That's a lot of gold."

            "He's probably got more where this came from," Jim responded. He looked at the three with him. "In fact, this might be more than enough to build a new BenBow Inn." He tossed Liz a purple, star-shaped gem, then gave Sora and Kairi a red, cross-shaped gem and a green diamond, respectively. "Get something nice for yourselves when we get back."

            "Wow, thanks!" Sora quickly pocketed the gem, as did Kairi and Liz with theirs. "That was pretty generous of you."

            Jim shrugged. "For helping us out with the Heartless, it was the least I could do."

            Up above, the call rang out, "Land Ho!"

            The four kids, upon hearing this, grinned at each other and dashed back up to the main deck, catching sight of the Montressor Spaceport as it appeared on the horizon.

            "We're almost home," Liz murmured, smiling to herself.

            "Mysterious Tower, here we come," Sora agreed.

            **Spacial Break**

            "Let's go over this one more time."

            Maria looked over in the direction of the white-haired man in a white suit and red tie, who was standing in front of a roaring fireplace and a large portrait of himself. She reminded herself readily that his name was Whitmore, and he had been unsurprisingly surprised when she, Lea and Riku had suddenly shown up on his doorstep with the rest of the crew and a large amount of gold and jewels.

            "What happened to Rourke and Helga?" Whitmore asked, scanning the group.

            "Well," Cookie started from where he sat on one of the couches in the room, "one of 'em is bein' held prisoner in Atlantis an' the other is -"

            The cook was suddenly elbowed in the side by Audrey, who was sitting on Maria's right.

            After Cookie had let out a cough (revealing one of his gold teeth) and had regained his composure, the Southern grumbled, "Missin'."

            Whitmore gave a nod of approval. "And Atlantis?"

            "Never found it," Vinny stated calmly.

            "And Milo?"

            "He went down with the ship," Audrey responded nonchalantly. Maria wished that they had managed to come up with something nicer for Milo, but there wasn't really anything else that they could have said about him - anything other than deaths and the press definitely would have become suspicious.

            Mr. Whitmore then turned to look at Maria, Riku, and Lea. "And you three were never on that submarine or in Atlantis when they got there. Is that clear?"

            "As crystal," Maria responded, motioning to the shard that hung around her neck. The other two nodded in agreement.

            Whitmore nodded in approval, then looked at the picture that was at the top of the stack of black and white photos while Mole (who had taken a forced bath and had since looked a little more presentable) eagerly eyed a planter that was sitting near his armchair. A smirk came over Maria's face when the old man found the bonus gift Milo has slipped into the pack of pictures before the crew had left.

            Just as Mole jumped into the planter and dug himself into its depths with a rather sinister cackle, a large Keyhole appeared on the painting of Whitmore that hung over the fireplace.

            Lea and Riku, after exchanging glances, both summoned their Keyblades and sent beams of energy into the Keyhole, officially waking up the world from the darkness that had swallowed it before.

            "What was that?" Sweet asked, looking at the two boys.

            "A sign that we must move on," Riku stated. "You probably won't be seeing us again."

            Whitmore dropped the Atlantean crystal onto his chest. "All right, kids. You three might have to take the back door - in case you didn't notice, the press seems to have turned my front lawn into public camping grounds." The old man didn't sound too happy. "Good luck, wherever you end up going. I hope you won't run into any of the dark creatures that bothered you so much on the expedition."

            Maria nodded in response, giving a half-smile. "I don't think that will be so much of a problem anymore." She got to her feet, Riku and Lea following suit. Turning to look at the rest of the crew, she stated, "I guess this is good-bye, then."

            Sweet gave a nod. "Be careful next time you pick a sub to castaway on. Adventures that start like that could be bad for your health."

            Maria laughed. "Depends on the adventure." She turned and started for the elevator that would lead to the ground floor, the other two following close behind.

            When the trio reached the first floor, they stepped out of the elevator and thanked the butler who had been manning it before being directed to the "back door," which really led out into the old man's garden, then down the side of huge cliff to a well-worn trail that disappeared into a nearby forest.

            "So, now what?" Maria asked, turning to look at the two Keyblade users.

            "We go back to Mysterious Tower so that we can get you home," Riku stated in reply.

            "Okay...but how?" Maria looked around. "Do you have a transport hiding somewhere or something?"

            Riku shook his head. "I was thinking that you could try to use the portal magic your sister could conjure up."

            Maria blinked in confusion. "Me? Make a portal?"

            "She used her sword to do it. Your staff may be able to do the same thing."

            Maria frowned, then caused her staff to materialize and looked it over cautiously. "It could work, but I don't know if it will."

            "Try."

            Maria let out a sigh. "All right, all right." She held her staff in both hands and closed her eyes tightly, trying to get a clear picture of Mysterious Tower in her mind. As soon as she got the front doors into focus, she felt a rush of energy go through her arms and into her staff, and she opened her eyes when she felt the energy slip out.

            "I guess it did work," Maria remarked in amazement, looking at the blue portal.

            Riku gave a nod, then looked over at Lea. "Come on. Yen Sid is going to know what happened form all sides."

            The redhead looked a little disgruntled. "I was planning on going to -" He cut himself short when he saw the glare on Riku's face. "Okay. I'm going." He turned and stepped through the portal and disappeared in a flash. Riku and Maria followed close behind.


	23. Reunited

            Maria stepped cautiously out of the portal and looked around in slight confusion at where she found herself.

            "I pictured the front door, not Yen Sid's study," she stated slowly, frowning.

            "I am aware of that," came an old man's voice. "However, I did not think that you would need to go up my many flights of stairs."

            The teenager turned her head in surprise upon hearing the voice, only for her eyes to widen when she caught sight of the bearded man in a blue robe standing next to a wooden desk. Riku and Lea stood nearby, the latter with his arms crossed over his chest while he leaned against the wall behind him.

            Maria glanced behind her as the portal she had come through suddenly winked out, then returned her gaze to the wizard in front of her. She watched cautiously as Yen Sid walked around her, scanning her appearance. When he had come full circle, his eyes widened slightly when he saw the crystal shard hanging around Maria's neck.

            "It seems you became involved with the events of the world you were brought to," Yen Sid remarked, raising an eyebrow.

            Maria offered a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah, I guess so."

            "And you have abilities that are only granted to a few...your sister among them."

            Maria looked up sharply, locking her gaze with Yen Sid in surprise. "You can't be serious."

            "I am. Liz's blade carries the same energies your staff contains. In fact -"

            The old wizard was cut off when a low thrumming noise came from behind Maria, and the teenager turned in order to see what was creating the noise. Her eyes widened when she saw another portal identical to the one she had gone through. Seconds later, three figures emerged from the blue light, causing Maria's eyes to widen even further.

            One of the figures - a girl wearing purple-frame glasses and carrying a scimitar in hand and a purple, star-like gem hanging around her neck - stepped forward as the portal closed, blinking as she stared at Maria with blue eyes filled with surprise and relief. "Maria?"

            Maria didn't say anything; she just reacted by running forward and enveloping her little sister in a tight hug. A moment later, Maria released Liz and took a step back, and the two scanned each other to see if there was anything new.

            "You're not wearing your glasses," Liz said immediately, frowning.

            "And you still have yours," Maria countered with a half-smile. "I guess you didn't run into a power source that gave you perfect eyesight." She tapped the blue crystal that hung around her neck. A frown came over her own face. "Riku said you were here in the tower, but it looks like you went somewhere. Where did you go?"

            "Well -"

            "We went on a treasure hunt!" came the excited exclamation from the spiky, brown-haired boy standing next to Liz. "And we got to run into pirates!"

            "You sound way too excited by that," Lea remarked.

            "He's been with Jack Sparrow," Liz replied dryly. "What do you expect?"

            The brown-haired boy - Sora, Maria remembered - now started to look Maria over with a more curious expression. "So, you're Liz's sister?"

            Maria gave a nod. "Yeah. And you're Sora." She subconsciously adjusted her grip on her staff, getting her sister's gaze to move.

            "You've got a weapon just like I do," Liz noted, holding up her sword.

            Maria noticed the dragon shape that hung from the end of the handle, as well as the calmer colors. A smirk slipped across her face.

            "That may be true, but can you control an element?" Maria let her hands spark with flames, causing her sister's eyes to widen.

            "Since when -"

            "I believe you will have time to discuss this when you return to your own world," Yen Sid stated, interrupting Liz's surprised question. "Your family is most likely searching for you as we speak."

            Maria turned to look over at the wizard, and after a moment she gave a slight nod. "Yeah, you're probably right."

            "Master Yen Sid?" came a new voice.

            Everyone in the study turned to face the door, where a small, black-furred figure stood with a curious expression on his face.

            "You wanted to see me?" the figure continued, stepping inside. Maria blinked before realizing who she was looking at.

            "Indeed," Yen Sid replied calmly. "I wanted to inform you of the others who do what Keyblade wielders are capable of."

            Maria and Liz looked at each other, then back at the magician. "Do you mean us?" Liz asked.

            Yen Sid nodded. "Or, perhaps, just Maria."

            Maria frowned. "What do you mean? And why me?"

            "You carry the staff that sets you apart from others in your world," Yen Sid explained. "You are a World Jumper."

            King Mickey blinked, looked over at Maria, then back at Yen Sid. "You can't be serious."

            Maria, however, only became even more confused. "World Jumper? Is that the title the Crystal mentioned?"

            "Crystal?" Liz repeated, looking at her sister. "What do you mean?"

            "It seems your sister has found herself pulled into more than you were, Liz," Yen Sid continued. "I am surprised that I had not seen it sooner. The Atlanteans have had a great many connections with the other worlds, including Keyblade wielders."

            "Yeah, I think we figured that out already," Lea remarked, sliding a finger through the leather string around his neck and lifting up the crystal shard. "What's this got to do with her, though?"

            "Remember when they were talking about the Shepherd's Journal?" Maria asked in response. "Talking about looking for a successor or something?"

            "Successor?" Liz frowned. "For what?"

            Maria shrugged helplessly. "The king never got to say." She frowned. "And even if anyone else did, I don't remember."

            "Don't remember?" Liz repeated.

            "Would you remember if you got put in a trance by the Crystal?" Maria snapped back.

            "Easy," Riku stated. "It happened to us, too, remember?"

            Lea nodded. "Wasn't exactly what I was expecting, that's for sure."

            "It is a part of their culture," Yen Sid stated calmly. "As is the World Jumper an inherited title."

            "Inherited?" Maria repeated.

            "Are you saying that Mom and Dad -" Liz started.

            "It could be either," the wizard replied. "You will have to ask your parents when you return."

            Maria and Liz blinked, then looked at each other.

            "I guess there's something that we have to ask them about when we get back," Liz remarked.

            Maria nodded, then scanned the study quickly and looked at each person in turn before pausing on Mickey, who gave her a curious frown when she got into a crouch in front of him.

            "Don't worry about your missing friends," Maria stated quietly. "One is safe in both body and Heart, and the other is with an old ally, but behind closed doors." The slight smile that had been on her face faded. "I'm not so sure about the third, but you can find a part of him where you last fought together."

            Mickey blinked in confusion, frowning. "You don't mean -"

            "A particular Nobody happens to look a lot like one of your friends." Maria glanced over at Sora for a moment. "Ask Riku what he saw when he woke Sora up after their exam. You may learn something that I forgot to tell you." She rose to her full height and looked over at her sister, who had been watching with a guarded expression.

            "So we can go home?" Liz asked.

            Maria gave a nod. "Yeah. Do you want to make the portal, or should I?"

            "I got it." Liz held her sword in front of her in both hands, glaring furiously at the point. A moment later, blue energy blossomed from the tip, creating a familiar portal. Looking over at Maria, Liz grinned and gave a mock bow. "Sisters first."

            Maria smirked and chuckled, shaking her head. Then she turned to look at the Keyblade wielders. "Thanks for helping us out. I don't think either one of us could have found the other without you guys."

            "It was no trouble," Riku replied.

            "Maybe you can come back sometime and explore other worlds with us," Sora suggested, grinning. "There are a whole lot of worlds that you guys haven't seen yet!"

            "You got that right," Liz agreed. "But it'll probably be a while before we come back." She sent her sister a meaningful look, and she raised her free hand in a defensive stance.

            "All right, all right. I'm going." Maria looked back at the group again, then gave a wave before stepping through the portal.

            Liz was about to follow, but a hand was placed on her shoulder. "Wait. I'm going to come with you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I wrote this loooonnng before we started getting Kingdom Hearts 3 trailers. Kinda shows, doesn't it?


	24. Home again, home again

            Maria stepped out of the portal confidently, staff in hand as she planned what she was going to say to her parents about wheat they were doing and where they had been.

            However, throes plans faltered when the teen found herself standing in the family room and her parents and brothers were staring at her in pure surprise.

            "Maria?" asked a woman with frizzy black hair and green eyes. "What -"

            "I think I'll explain when Liz comes through," Maria remarked, turning to look back at the portal. "She was right behind me."

            The portal seemed to suddenly gain a shadow of a figure right before a leg came out and the figure stepped through.

            Well, two figures, actually.

            "Whoa!" A blond boy with wide, blue eyes jumped off the couch, the PS3 controller tumbling to the floor with a clatter. "You're Riku!"

            Riku looked over at the boy. "Yes, that's me. And you are?"

            "Collin," the boy replied, grinning. "And this is Matthew!" He motioned to the older, blue-eyed and brown-haired teenage boy, who was still sitting on the couch next to a man with identically-colored features.

            Riku gave Matthew a nod in greeting, then turned his attention to the woman who had started to ask Maria something a second ago. "I'm guessing you're Liz's and Maria's mother?"

            The woman gave a nod. "What is going on? I didn't think that a video game character could be real."

            "Not in this world," Maria replied, grinning. At the same time, Liz looked back at the portal and snapped her fingers, causing it to wink out. "We ended up getting dragged into the Kingdom Hearts universe by Pete."

            "Pete?" Matthew repeated, frowning.

            "Yeah. You know, the giant cat -"

            "I know who Pete is!" Matthew interrupted, smirking. "It's just hard to believe that he's the reason you've been gone for two days."

            Maria blinked in surprise. "Only two days? That's hard to believe."

            "Actually, it's not," the man spoke up, getting the attention of the family and Riku. "Different worlds can have different time periods."

            The woman nodded in agreement. "You can spend years on one world, and only be gone from your own for a couple hours. Other times, you can be gone for centuries."

            "Like...with the _Sonic Chronicles_ game?" Collin asked.

            "Something like that," the father replied. "Although, I was thinking of a couple of other instances."

            "Morgen," their mother stated warningly.

            "We were told about something like this already," Maria stated, lifting up her staff a little. "Yen Sid already called me a World Jumper. I just didn't think that the both of you could have had the title."

            Morgen and his wife looked at each other, then back at Maria in surprise.

            "World Jumpers?" Morgen repeated. "Us? Whatever 'jumping' we did was done completely by accident. We weren't given that title."

            "Well, we might have been," the mother remarked.

            "I don't remember ever hearing those words put together, Katie."

            "I do. You were just asleep at the time." Katie grinned when Morgen glared at her.

            "Your daughter has now gained the title," Riku spoke up. "And it's not something that is to be taken lightly. There are other worlds that may get Maria's attention and cause her to disappear from time to time."

            "Not surprised," Morgen responded.

            "Do you think we can go to a world, too?" Collin asked, looking hopeful.

            "When you get older," Maria responded. She looked over at Riku. "Speaking of worlds, though, we'd better get you back to Mysterious Tower. Who knows what's going to happen now?"

            Riku gave a nod in agreement. "I'll keep in touch."

            Maria gripped her staff in both hands and concentrated on the Mysterious Tower, bringing up another blue portal, which Riku stepped into. A moment later, it winked out of sight.

            The silence that followed was quickly broken by Collin asking, "What happened with you guys? Where did you get the staff and the sword? Are they real?"

            Maria smirked at her younger brother's questions. "I went to Atlantis, I don't know where I got the staff, and yes, it's real."

            "Same on my end, except I went on a galactic treasure hunt," Liz added, tapping the star gem that was hanging from her neck. "I don't know if we've seen that world, though."

            "Uh huh." Maria crossed her arms over her chest. "Galactic treasure hunt, huh? I suppose that 'x marks the spot on Treasure Planet'?"

            "How did you know?!"

            "There's a movie called _Treasure Planet_. We borrowed it once, when it came out on VHS, but nobody really wanted to go after it and get it for the family." Maria shrugged. "We got _Atlantis_ instead."

            "Oh."

            Katie gained a thoughtful expression. "You know, I did find something in the mail yesterday. They were the two movies you just mentioned, but they were marked with 'Director's Cut'. I didn't remember ordering anything like that..."

            Maria and Liz looked at each other.

            "Do you think -" Liz started.

            "I do," Maria replied, nodding. Looking back at her mother, she asked, "Do you think we could watch one of them? Just to see what's different?"

            "I don't see why not." Katie looked over at the boys, who had picked up the controllers for the system again. "Boys?"

            Matt looked over, then back at Maria and Liz. "I don't see why not. It'll explain where my little sisters have been off to, anyway."

            Maria smirked. "Yeah, well, you'd have to have been there when Pete tried to nab us in the morning two days ago. Then who knows what could've happened?"

            **Time Break**

            Maria leaned back against the wall at the foot of her bed, smiling to herself as she thought back to the movie night they had finished about half an hour before.

            Liz had slipped _Treasure Planet_ in first, and Matt had voiced his opinion that the story had pretty much remained the same except for the added people on the expedition - as well as the Heartless. Maria's version of the events from Atlantis, however, left the entire group speechless - and brought out a shudder from Maria when she saw what Milo saw in the Crystal chamber below the throne room.

            A trance was one thing. A trance where you can suddenly speak Atlantean? That's something else.

            Maria moved her gaze from the headboard of the bed to the crystal shard that hung around her neck. There were some things that she still didn't know about her new abilities, or what she had been told by the Crystal in the chamber. She had the feeling that she would learn some of them sooner or later, however.

            Just as the thought entered her mind, a headache blossomed, and Maria reflexively closed her eyes, only for a vision to play out before her...

_The entire world was black - the trees, the rocks, the sky - everything as far as the eye could see. There was no sound, either, other than that which could be called "white noise."_

_Suddenly, the sound of pattering feet caught Maria's attention, and her head turned in order to find the source. A green figure came into view, lizard-like in appearance, with a green leaf on his head. Thanks to Maria's experience with video games, she knew the creature was the Pokemon Grovyle._

_The creature was running at a high speed, a determined look on the Grass-Type's face. Maria could hear something coming up behind it, but the Pokemon never bothered to look back; perhaps the creature had been chased before. Maria strained her ears, hoping to hear something more, but she didn't._

            As the vision faded into black, Maria opened her eyes again as the headache disappeared. Staring at the yellow mouse plush that sat on top of her wardrobe, she remarked to herself, "I guess that the next world is going to be having a little bit of time travel trouble. I'll have to head out in the morning. I hope they don't mind if I miss a part of Spring Break..."


End file.
